VV*^     tf 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


A  FOUNDATION  BUILDER 


JAMES  B.   SIMMOXS   AT  65 


'1 

FOUNDATION    BUILDER 

Sketches  in  the  Life  of 
REV.  JAMES  B.  SIMMONS,  D.D. 


Compiled  by 

Robert  Stuart  Mac  Arthur,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


PUBLISHED  UNDER    THE    DIRECTION    OF    THE    TRUSTEES 
OF    SIMMONS    COLLEGE,    ABILENE,    TEXAS 


ILLUSTRATED 


New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming    H.   Revell    Company 

London  and  Edinburgh 


Copyright,  191 1,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  123  N.  Wabash  Ave. 
Toronto :  25  Richmond  St.,  W. 
London :  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:  100  Princes  Street 


5  5*^1  M 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.     Early  Life 9 

II,     Student  Life 17 

III.  Married  Life 28 

IV,  Life  as  Pastor 41 

V.     His  Life  as  Secretary       ....  63 

VI.     The  Foundation  Builder         •       •       •  93 

VII,     His    Connection    with    Simmons    Col- 
lege    104 

VIII.     Simmons      College  —  The     Crowning 

Achievement  of  Dr.  Simmons's  Life  134 


O 
X 


550343 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


James  B.  Simmons  at  65 


Frontispiece 

FACING    PAGE 


Birthplace  of  James  B.  Simmons 

Bowl  and  Fork 

James  B.  Simmons  at  Marriage   . 

Mary  E.  Simmons  at  Marriage   , 

James  B.  Simmons,  26  Years  of  Age 

Robert  S.  Simmons  at  30        ,       . 

Mary  E.   Simmons  at  30    . 

Fifth    Baptist      Church,      cor.     i8th      and 

Spring    Garden     Streets,    Philadelphia, 

Pa.,  Erected   During   the  Pastorate   of 

James  B.  Simmons   .... 
James  B.   Simmons  at  45    . 
Colver  Institute,  Richmond,  Va. 

LuMPKiNS  Jail 

Benedict  Institute,  Columbia,  S.  C 

Leland  University,  New  Orleans 

Shaw   Collegiate  Institute,  Raleigh,  N. 

The  Estey  Building,  Raleigh,  N.  C. 

Wayland  Seminary,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Nashville  Institute,  Nashville,  Tenn. 

James  B.  Simmons  at  70    .       .       . 

Old  Main  Building,  Simmons  College     . 

Sarah  Anna  Simmons,  Daughter   of  Robert 

S.  Simmons,  at  8  Years  of  Age     . 
Girls*  Industrial  Home,  Simmons  College 


12 
21 
28 

34 
38 
44 

48 


50 
58 
66 

67 

72 

74 
75 
77 

79 
81 
90 

105 

116 

130 


EARLY  LIFE 

PERHAPS  no  man  in  America,  if  in  the 
world,  has  been  more  directly  instru- 
mental in  the  founding  of  Christian 
colleges  than  was  the  late  Rev.  James  B. 
Simmons,  D.D.,  of  New  York.  Sketches 
from  his  life  cannot  fail  to  be  interesting  to 
those  who  favour  Christian  education  and  to 
every  lover  of  humanity  and  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  His  active  life  embraced  the 
last  half  of  the  most  active  of  all  the  cen- 
turies, and  he  not  only  kept  abreast  of  the 
rapidly  advancing  tide,  but  he  was  a  leader 
in  events  that  have  revolutionized  the  world. 
The  useful  lessons  which  are  to  be  drawn 
from  such  a  life  should  not  be  lost  to  the 
rising  generation. 

Dr.  Simmons  was  born  in  Northeast, 
Dutchess  County,  New  York,  of  Dutch  and 
Scotch    parentage.      His    great-grandfather, 


lo  A  Foundation  Builder 

Peter  Simmons,  came  from  Holland  in  the 
eighteenth  century  and  settled  in  Dutchess 
County.  Many  of  the  best  people  of  the 
State  of  New  York  to-day  are  descended 
from  the  early  Dutch  settlers.  The  Van 
Rensselaers,  Vanderbilts,  Astors,  Roosevelts, 
Rockefellers,  and  Dutchers  are  proud  to 
claim  Holland  as  the  fatherland  of  their 
ancestors. 

Many  of  the  most  cherished  ideas  of  our 
American  institutions  are  derived  either  di- 
rectly from  Holland  or  have  come  to  us  from 
that  country  by  way  of  England.  Our  British 
ancestors  were  strangers  to  religious  liberty 
and  freedom  of  the  press  until  taught  these 
doctrines  by  William,  Prince  of  Orange, 
when  he  came  to  the  English  throne.  The 
early  Dutch  settlers  brought  with  them  from 
Holland  the  Protestant  ideas  which  they 
had  imbibed  there,  and  they  were  engrafted 
into  the  early  institutions  of  our  country. 
Our  present  civilization  owes  more  to  Hol- 
land than  many  people  suppose.  The 
Simmons  family,  clinging  to  their  ancestral 
teachings,  were  industrious  and  economical, 
with   a   dogged    tenacity   in   what   they   be- 


Early  Life  ii 

lieved  to  be  right,  and  these  qualities  are 
marked  characteristics  of  this  family,  scat- 
tered as  it  is  over  the  greater  part  of  this 
country. 

Nicholas  Simmons,  the  grandfather  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  in  Dutchess 
County,  and  led  an  industrious  life  until 
his  death  in  1840.  His  wife's  maiden  name 
was  Christina  Snyder,  a  woman  of  marked 
cheerfulness,  wisdom,  and  industry.  Will- 
iam Simmons,  the  father  of  James  B.,  was 
born  in  Pine  Plains,  Dutchess  County,  in 
1787,  and  grew  to  manhood  there,  and  en- 
gaged in  farming  in  the  town  of  Northeast 
until  18 1 8,  when  he  moved  to  Columbia 
County,  where  he  lived  for  five  years.  He 
was  married  to  Clarissa  Roe,  a  lady  of 
Scotch  and  English  descent,  whose  parents 
were  Silas  and  Mercy  (Hervey)  Roe,  and 
it  was  at  the  old  Roe  homestead  in  North- 
east that  James  B.,  the  youngest  of  five 
children,  was  born.  He  had  two  brothers, 
Hervey  Roe,  and  Edward  W.,  and  two  sis- 
ters, Julia  and  Amanda.  His  father  was  a 
successful  farmer,  and  held  various  official 
positions  in  his  county.     He  was  a  soldier  in 


12  A  Foundation  Builder 

the  war  of  1812,  and  came  out  of  the  war  a 
non-commissioned  officer.  The  mother  of 
James  B.  was  a  woman  of  rare  gifts,  and 
while  she  imparted  to  her  son  the  solidity  of 
her  Scotch  blood,  she  was  deprived  of  giving 
her  motherly  training  to  her  baby  boy,  for  she 
was  providentially  thrown  from  a  wagon 
and  killed  when  her  baby  was  a  little  less 
than  five  months  old.  Thus  Dr.  Simmons 
was  deprived  of  that  best  of  all  earthly 
blessings  to  childhood,  a  good  mother's  guid- 
ing hand  and  prayerful  heart. 

A  kind  woman  in  the  neighbourhood, 
Ruth  Levings,  cared  for  the  motherless  boy 
until  his  father  married  a  second  time,  and 
all  through  her  life  Mrs.  Levings  loved  him 
and  prayed  for  him  as  if  he  had  been  her  own 
son.  James  worked  on  his  father's  farm 
and  attended  school  at  intervals  until  his 
fifteenth  year.  Exiled  from  home  at  that 
early  age,  he  went  out  into  the  world  cour- 
ageously and  joyfully  to  make  his  way  as 
best  he  might.  He  was  determined  to  have 
an  "  eddication,"  as  he  expressed  it  to  his 
sister,  who  corrected  him  by  saying,  "  Edu- 
cation, my  child,"  and  he  began  working  on 


A 

H^iw  i 

-s.^^- 

..:._- 

BIRTHPLACE  OF  JAMES  B.   SIMMONS 


Early  Life  13 

the  farm  for  his  uncle  at  six  dollars  per 
month,  and  saved  up  his  scanty  earnings. 

His  brother  Edward  was  teaching  a  classi- 
cal school  at  Sheffield,  Mass.,  and  he  took 
James  B.  into  his  school  and  prepared  him 
for  college,  supplementing  the  boy's  earnings 
with  an  advance  of  money  for  his  expenses 
till  he  finished  his  academic  course;  these 
advances  were  faithfully  repaid.  Edward 
not  only  did  this,  but  admonished  him  as  a 
father,  helped  him  when  in  trouble,  guided 
him  in  counsel,  and  above  all  led  him  sav- 
ingly to  Christ.  Edward,  who  was  eleven 
years  his  senior,  has  long  been  a  prominent 
merchant  and  lawyer  in  his  native  town; 
has  held  various  positions  of  trust  in  his 
county,  and  for  sixty-six  years  has  been  a 
member  of  a  Baptist  church.  The  two 
brothers  were  greatly  attached  to  each  other 
all  their  lives  and  for  the  best  of  reasons. 

The  habits  of  industry  and  economy,  in- 
herited from  his  ancestors  and  enforced  by  an 
early  life  of  poverty,  were  practised  through 
life  by  Dr.  Simmons,  and  greatly  aided  him 
in  accomplishing  a  large  work  for  the  Lord's 
cause  by  his  labours  and  his  means. 


14  A  Foundation  Builder 

Although     Dr.     Simmons's     father     and 
mother  were  church  members,   the  son   be- 
came sceptical  at  an  early  age  and  was  de- 
termined that  he  would  not  be  a  Christian. 
While    living   with    his    brother    and   going 
to    school,    an    evangelist    by    the    name    of 
Crandall  came  into  the  neighbourhood  and 
began   a  meeting   in   the   Baptist   church   at 
Northeast.     The     brother    said     to    James, 
*'  You  had  better  go  with  me  to  church  to- 
night and  hear  the  new  man  preach."    "  No," 
says  James,  "  my  lessons  are  difficult  and  I 
do  not  care  to  go."    The  next  night  the  same 
invitation    was    given,    but    the    third    night 
the   brother   insisted    that   he   should    go    to 
church,  offering  to  excuse  him  from  the  les- 
sons.   "  I  went,"  said  James,  "  and  it  appeared 
that  the  preacher  aimed  his  sermon  directly 
at    me.      I    was    offended    at    first,    because 
I    thought    that    my    brother    had    told    the 
minister   about   me,    and    I   was   determined 
to  upbraid  him  for  it  when  we  reached  the 
house.      The    minister    continued    with    his 
pointed    appeals,    and   long   before    he    con- 
cluded the  sermon,  I  was  subdued  and  weep- 
ing.    I  felt  as  if  hell  was  gaping  beneath 


Early  Life  15 

me.  I  thought  there  was  no  sinner  so  bad 
as  I,  and  in  great  distress  I  began  to  read 
the  Bible.  Before  this  I  could  not  bear  the 
Bible,  and  though  my  father  had  offered  me 
ten  dollars  to  read  the  Book  through,  I  would 
not  do  it.  The  meetings  continued,  and  one 
day  as  I  was  walking  along  the  road  I  real- 
ized that  Christ  was  a  great  and  loving 
Saviour,  and  I  accepted  him  as  my  Re- 
deemer, and  immediately  sweet  peace  filled 
my  soul.  I  was  baptized  into  the  fellow- 
ship of  the  old  Northeast  Baptist  church 
by  Rev.  John  LaGrange,  the  pastor,  and 
immediately  had  a  desire  to  tell  others  of 
this  great  salvation.  I  worked  some  time 
on  the  farm,  taught  school,  and  all  the 
time  kept  up  my  studies  and  worked  in 
the  prayer  meetings  where  I  chanced  to  be. 
I  did  not  tell  any  one  of  my  impressions  of 
duty  to  preach  the  Gospel;  in  fact,  I  was  not 
fully  settled  in  my  own  mind  on  the  subject. 
I  felt  that  the  work  was  too  great  and  sacred 
for  one  so  young,  so  ignorant,  and  so  inex- 
perienced as  I.  Once  Abner  Brown,  who 
kept  the  boarding-house  of  my  brother's 
academy,   asked   the   different  boys   at   table 


i6  A  Foundation  Builder 

what  they  were  going  to  be  when  they  grew 
up.  One  said  he  would  be  a  sailor;  another 
a  merchant;  another  a  lawyer,  and  so  on. 
Then  turning  to  me  he  said,  '  And  what  will 
you  be,  James,  a  preacher?  '  I  blushed  and 
said  that  I  did  not  know  what  I  should  do, 
but  would  wait  till  the  time  came  to  de- 
cide. I  did  not  then  know  that  any  one  had 
thought  of  me  in  connection  with  the  min- 
istry. The  good  man  said,  'Well,  James, 
you  go  on  and  educate  yourself,  and  then 
the  Lord  will  put  you  at  such  work  as  he 
wants  you  to  do.'  " 

"  In  the  summer  of  1846  I  joined  the 
preparatory  department  of  what  was  then 
Madison  University  at  Hamilton,  N.  Y.,  now 
Colgate  University." 

Dr.  Simmons  spent  three  years  in  thor- 
oughly preparing  himself  for  the  college 
course,  and  entered  the  Freshman  class  of 
the  University  at  the  beginning  of  the  ses- 
sion of  1847.  Though  poor  in  this  world's 
goods,  he  was  determined  to  make  the  most 
possible  out  of  the  gifts  with  which  God 
had  blessed  him. 


II 

STUDENT  LIFE 

COLLEGE  life  fifty  years  ago  was  a 
very  different  thing  from  what  it  is 
to-day.  Endowments  were  small^ 
and  revenues  were  scanty,  and  college  pro- 
fessors, as  a  rule,  led  lives  of  self-sacrifice. 
There  were  no  John  D.  Rockefellers,  George 
Peabodys,  and  James  B.  Colgates  to  give 
millions  properly  to  equip  colleges  for  work. 
The  facilities  were  poor  and  meagre  com- 
pared with  the  advantages  of  the  present  day. 
Our  country  lad  began  his  college  course 
without  money  or  wealthy  patron,  knowing 
that  he  must  rely  on  industry,  economy,  and 
constant  application  if  he  succeeded  in  ob- 
taining a  collegiate  education.  The  four 
years'  course  seemed  to  him  almost  a  life- 
time to  spend  in  study,  especially  as  he  had 
struggled  along  for  several  years  already  to 
prepare  for  college.     He  had  been  taught  in 

17 


1 8  A  Foundation  Builder 

early  life  that  if  you  wish  to  fell  a  tree, 
it  pays  to  take  time  to  sharpen  the  axe  be- 
fore beginning  work,  and  he  applied  this 
teaching  to  the  great  work  of  life,  and  felt 
that  his  axe  needed  much  grinding  before  he 
was  ready  to  begin  a  task  that  would  take 
him  a  lifetime  to  complete,  and  during 
which  there  would  be  no  opportunity  to 
correct  initial  mistakes. 

He  entered  the  Freshman  class  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1847,  and  soon  took  a  good  stand  in 
the  class,  through  indefatigable  labour.  It 
was  the  usual  humdrum  life  of  a  college 
boy,  and  with  odd  jobs  of  work  mornings 
and  evenings  and  on  Saturdays,  he  eked  out 
his  slender  means.  He  rose  Sophomore  at 
the  beginning  of  the  next  session,  and  pur- 
sued the  course  to  half  advanced,  when  the 
fame  of  Brown  University,  located  at  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  reached  his  ears.  Dr.  Francis 
Wayland,  the  president,  was  regarded  as  the 
ablest  college  man  in  the  land,  and  students 
from  all  over  the  country,  as  far  south  as 
Georgia  and  South  Carolina,  were  flocking 
to  Brown.  A  young  Carolinian  had  grad- 
uated a  few  years  before  who  soon  became 


Student  Life  19 

famous  in  his  native  State,  and  subsequently 
was  known  all  over  the  United  States  as 
Dr.  J.  P.  Boyce,  the  leader  of  the  Southern 
Baptist  hosts  in  the  work  of  higher  educa- 
tion. In  the  same  class  with  Boyce  was 
John  Hill  Luther,  who  as  minister,  editor, 
and  college  professor  and  president  was  be- 
loved west  of  the  Mississippi  River  from 
Missouri  to  Texas. 

Young  Simmons  could  not  resist  the  in- 
clination to  avail  himself  of  the  great  abili- 
ties of  Dr.  Wayland  as  a  teacher,  and  with 
his  beloved  classmate,  Robert  J.  Willingham, 
of  South  Carolina,  set  out  from  Hamilton  for 
New  York.  He  had  never  been  in  a  great 
city,  and  was  afraid  lest  he  should  be  robbed 
of  his  trunk  and  books.  Landing  from  a 
boat  on  North  River,  he  and  his  companion 
agreed  that  it  was  best  not  to  risk  their  bag- 
gage out  of  their  sight,  and  so  they  hired 
a  man  with  a  hand  barrow  to  wheel  it 
across  to  a  steamboat  bound  for  Providence 
by  way  of  Stonington, — and  they  accom- 
panied him  on  foot.  Their  idea  was  that 
if  he  attempted  to  escape  with  their  trunks, 
they  could  manage  him,  as  they  were  two 


20  A  Foundation  Builder 

to  one.  This  prominent  trait  of  character  in 
Dr.  Simmons,  of  wise  forecast  and  caution, 
thus  manifested  itself  at  an  early  day. 

The  young  men  arrived  safely  at  Provi- 
dence and  enquired  for  Brown  University. 
The  hackman  could  not  tell  them,  but 
shouted  out,  "  Does  anybody  here  know 
where  Brown's  Universalist  is? "  Another 
hackman  gave  him  directions  to  *'  Brown's 
Universalist,"  and  after  wandering  around, 
lost  occasionally  in  the  darkness  of  the  early 
morning,  they  found  at  last  the  college 
grounds,  and  were  welcomed  to  its  halls. 

Young  Simmons  paid  one  dollar  a  month 
rent  for  his  room,  and  bought  and  prepared 
his  own  food.  He  says,  "  I  ate,  principally, 
bread  and  milk,  indulging  myself  in  meat 
only  twice  a  week.  I  had  a  bowl  and  fork, 
and  would  stick  the  fork  in  a  piece  of  bread 
and  dip  it  in  the  milk,  withdrawing  it 
quickly,  lest  it  should  absorb  too  much  milk, 
for  I  had  to  be  economical.  My  expense 
for  provisions  did  not  exceed  $1.12  per 
week."  The  bowl  and  fork  which  he  used 
are  still  preserved  in  the  museum  of  Sim- 
mons College  in  Texas,  as  an  inspiration  to 


Student  Life  21 

poor    boys    who    must    struggle    to    educate 
themselves. 

He  had  been  licensed  by  his  church  at 
home  to  preach,  and  it  was  understood  that 
he    was    preparing    himself    to    enter    upon 


Bowl  and  Fork 

mission  work,  either  in  the  West  or  in  a 
foreign  land.  He  once  related  an  amusing 
anecdote  of  himself  when  at  home  on  a 
vacation,  for  Dr.  Simmons  enjoyed  a  good 
story  even  at  his  own  expense.  "  During  vaca- 
tion, I  was  invited  to  preach  at  my  old  home 
church,  and  of  course  the  whole  community 
turned  out  to  hear  the  home  boy  who  had 
been  to  college.  A  day  or  two  after,  I  met 
'  Aunt  Harriet,'  as  she  was  called,  an  old 
maid  who  rendered  herself  generally  useful 
in  the  community,  of  uncommon  good  hard 
sense,  very  pious  and  beloved  and  respected 


22  A  Foundation  Builder 

by  all.  She  said  to  me,  '  James,  Elder  Gates 
speaks  very  well  of  your  sermon  Sunday.' 
(Elder  Gates  was  a  superannuated  minister 
who  lived  in  the  neighbourhood.)  '  He  says 
the  sermon  was  sound  in  doctrine,  well 
worded,  and  well  delivered,  and  I  was  glad 
to  hear  him  praise  it  so,  but  if  I  were  in  your 
place,  I  would  not  think  too  much  of  what 
Elder  Gates  says.  You  know  he  is  an  old 
man,  in  his  second  childhood,  and  hard  of 
hearing,  and  they  think  he  has  softening  of 
the  brain,  and  besides,  you  yourself  know 
that  Elder  Gates  never  was  a  good  judge 
of  preaching  anyway.'  She  wanted  to  en- 
courage me,  and  yet  she  did  not  wish  me  to 
become  too  much  puffed  up." 

Dr.  Simmons  used  to  tell,  in  speaking  of 
his  college  days,  of  a  time  when  President 
Wayland  called  him  to  book  about  being 
tardy  in  coming  to  recitation.  The  time  of 
the  recitation  had  been  changed,  and  he  was 
late.  The  President  asked  his  reasons  for 
his  tardiness,  and  he  replied  that  he  had 
forgotten  about  the  change,  and  was  shaving 
when  the  bell  rang.  "  At  what  time  of  day 
do  you  shave,  Simmons?"  asked  Dr.  Way- 


Student  Life  23 

land.  "  No  particular  time,  sir,  but  when 
I  think  my  face  needs  it."  "  And  do  you 
use  hot  or  cold  water? "  "  Warm  water, 
sir,  because  it  softens  the  beard."  "  Let  me 
tell  you  two  things:  always  classify  your 
shaving  with  your  toilet,  and  attend  to  it 
first  thing  in  the  morning.  Always  use  cold 
water  or  you  will  never  be  a  free  man.  Sup- 
pose you  should  settle  as  pastor  and  should 
be  sent  for  quickly  for  some  pastoral  duty. 
Do  you  not  see  that  if  you  should  have  to 
heat  up  water  and  shave  before  you  could 
go,  it  would  cause  great  delay?  No,  sir,  be 
a  free  man,  classify  your  shaving  with  your 
toilet,  and  always  use  cold  water."  These 
words  became  a  saying  on  the  college  cam- 
pus, and  the  lesson  in  system  in  small  things 
was  beneficial  to  others  besides  young  Sim- 
mons. 

In  1 85 1  Dr.  Simmons  graduated  in  a  class 
of  thirty-one,  among  whom  were  many  men 
who  afterwards  became  distinguished.  He 
did  not  take  an  honour,  but  was  reckoned  one 
of  the  upper  third  in  the  class.  Among  his 
classmates  were  Dr.  Bates  of  Pennsylvania; 
Hon.  John  S.  Brayton,  LL.D.,  of  Fall  River, 


24  A  Foundation  Builder 

Mass.;  W.  J.  Morecock,  a  distinguished  edu- 
cator in  Georgia;  J.  O.  A.  Clark,  D.D., 
LL.D.,  perhaps,  next  to  Bishop  Pierce,  the 
most  distinguished  Methodist  minister  in 
Georgia  of  his  day;  Warren  Randolph,  D.D., 
of  Rhode  Island,  the  lifelong  friend  of  Dr. 
Simmons  and  his  successor  in  the  pastorate 
of  the  First  Baptist  church,  Indianapolis, 
and  of  the  Fifth  church  in  Philadelphia, 
also;  and  Professor  J.  L.  Diman,  who  held 
a  chair  in  Brown  University  for  many  years. 

Dr.  Simmons  was  advised  against  taking 
a  theological  course,  and  applied  to  the 
American  Baptist  Home  Mission  Society 
for  an  appointment  in  the  West.  In  the 
meantime,  he  was  a  captive  to  the  wiles  of 
Cupid,  and  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Eliza 
Stevens,  a  most  excellent  woman  of  Provi- 
dence, who  was  ready  to  go  with  him  to  the 
West  as  a  missionary's  wife,  and  of  whom 
a  fuller  account  will  be  given  in  a  subse- 
quent chapter. 

Dr.  Benjamin  M.  Hill,  the  wise  secretary 
of  the  Home  Mission  Society,  wrote  him  ad- 
vising a  full  theological  course  before  he 
went  West.    Dr.  Hill  said  that  there  was  not 


Student  Life  25 

so  much  lack  of  quantity  as  of  quality.  "  The 
brightest  and  most  enterprising  of  our  citi- 
zens go  West;  if  you  would  succeed  there, 
you  will  need  all  the  preparation  you  can 
acquire." 

What  a  mistake  some  boards  make  when 
they  think  that  almost  any  kind  of  a  man 
will  do  to  send  to  a  western  mission  field! 
An  inferior  man  may  get  along  in  a  staid 
old  church  in  a  community  of  fixed  habits, 
but  in  a  new,  enterprising,  crystallizing  com- 
munity, nothing  short  of  the  best  can  suc- 
ceed. Others  seconded  Dr.  Hill's  advice, 
and  young  Simmons,  after  consulting  with 
his  young  wife,  decided  to  take  a  full  Sem- 
inary course.  She  turned  in  some  money 
that  her  father  had  given  her  to  set  up  in 
housekeeping,  and  an  unexpected  event  hap- 
pened which  made  it  possible  for  him  to  add 
enough  means  to  give  him  a  full  three  years' 
course  in  theology. 

One  of  his  early  schoolmates,  E.  W.  Clark, 
declined  to  go  to  college,  and  said  he  would 
go  into  business  and  get  rich.  He  became 
the  brother-in-law  of  Edward  W.  Simmons, 
and  began  business  and  succeeded   rapidly, 


26  A  Foundation  Builder 

but  he  was  arrested  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
and  impressed  with  his  duty  to  preach  the 
Gospel.  About  the  time  young  Simmons  was 
deciding  the  question  of  a  theological  course, 
young  Clark  appeared  in  Rhode  Island  to 
begin  a  course  in  Brown,  and  called  on  Sim- 
mons, the  friend  of  his  boyhood.  Young 
Clark  said  to  young  Simmons,  "  Go  ahead 
with  your  course,  and  draw  on  me  for  what 
money  you  need."  Simmons  and  his  wife  at 
once  went  to  Rochester  where  she  took  the 
same  course  with  him,  working  side  by  side. 
Young  Clark  afterwards  became  the  mission- 
ary who,  with  his  wife,  has  made  famous 
the  work   in   the  Naga   Hills,  Assam. 

After  a  year  at  Rochester,  Dr.  Simmons 
went  to  Andover  and  spent  a  year  under  the 
famous  Dr.  Edward  A.  Park.  He  completed 
his  course,  however,  at  Newton  Theological 
Institution,  near  Boston.  His  wife  accom- 
panied him  at  each  place,  and  shared  his 
studies.  He  afterward  repaid  Dr.  Clark 
for  the  money  advanced,  both  principal 
and  interest,  and  made  him  a  present 
besides. 

He   was   soon    ordained   to    the   ministry, 


Student  Life  27 

and  called  to  the  Third  church,  Providence, 
R.  I.,  and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  pastor 
at  a  salary  of  one  thousand  dollars  a  year. 
What  a  lesson  to  young  men!  Here  is  a 
poor  country  boy,  struggling  for  nine  long 
years  to  fit  himself  for  the  great  duties  of 
life,  supporting  himself  at  times  by  the 
labour  of  his  hands,  at  times  borrowing  money 
and  afterwards  earning  and  repaying  it,  yet 
with  commendable  courage  and  undaunted 
perseverance  continuing  the  even  tenor  of  his 
way  until  he  had  prepared  for  college,  grad- 
uated at  Brown,  and  completed  a  full  theo- 
logical course,  and  was  ready  to  begin  life's 
career  splendidly  equipped  for  the  work. 
Where  there  is  a  will  there  is  a  way.  What 
this  young  man  did,  any  other  young  man 
can  do  who  has  grit,  grace,  and  sanctified 
common  sense. 


Ill 

MARRIED  LIFE 

WHILE  Dr.  Simmons  was  a  student 
at  Brown,  he  met  Miss  Mary  Eliza 
Stevens,  a  young  Quakeress  who  was 
interested  in  Bible  investigation,  and  as  the 
student  aided  her  in  an  investigation  which 
resulted  in  her  joining  the  Baptist  church, 
they  two  became  warm  friends,  and  it  was 
but  a  step  from  friendship  to  a  stronger  pas- 
sion. Shortly  after  his  graduation  the  young 
couple  were  united  in  marriage  by  Dr. 
Francis  Wayland,  on  October  28,  1851,  both 
expecting  to  go  West  as  missionaries. 

Mrs.  Simmons  was  the  daughter  of  Robert 
and  Deborah  Stevens,  who  were  themselves 
natives  of  Rhode  Island,  and  well-to-do 
Quakers.  Her  grandfather  was  a  Quaker 
and  a  sea  captain.  In  those  days  the  captain 
of  a  ship  was  generally  part  owner,  and 
Captain  Cook  acquired  a  competency  in  his 

23 


JAMES   B.    SIMMONS    AT    MARRIAGE 


Married  Life  29 

chosen  vocation.  Mary  Eliza  was  given  as 
good  advantages  as  the  country  afforded  to 
women  at  that  time  for  mental  culture,  and 
on  her  graduation  with  distinction  at  the 
Quaker  College  near  Providence,  she  was 
offered  a  position  as  a  teacher,  and  for  a  few 
years  won  golden  opinions  as  an  instructor 
of  youth.  She  was  bright  intellectually, 
deeply  pious,  and  strictly  conscientious,  so  it 
is  not  surprising  that,  after  her  investigation 
of  the  Bible  had  led  her  to  embrace  Baptist 
views,  she  should  follow  her  convictions  by  a 
change  in  her  church  relations. 

After  her  marriage,  her  thorough  course 
in  the  Seminary  with  her  husband,  taking  as 
she  did  the  Hebrew  and  the  Greek,  placed 
her  perhaps  among  the  best  educated  women 
of  her  day.  It  was  manifest  in  after  life 
that  there  was  no  mistake  made  in  this  mar- 
riage, for  Mrs.  Simmons  graced  every  posi- 
tion to  which  she  was  called  as  the  wife  of 
her  distinguished  husband.  She  was  the 
right  hand  of  his  power  in  his  work  as  pas- 
tor and  as  secretary  of  our  great  Societies, 
and  stood  cheerfully  by  his  side  in  all  his 
benevolent  work. 


30  A  Foundation  Builder 

One  child  was  bom  to  them,  Robert 
Stevens  Simmons,  in  Providence,  R.  I.,  De- 
cember 9,  1854,  and  this  boy  was  carefully 
trained  by  both  father  and  mother,  as  those 
who  must  give  an  account.  After  a  literary 
course,  he  graduated  in  the  Homeopathic 
Medical  College  in  New  York,  and  made  a 
tour  of  Europe,  and  settled  down  to  prac- 
tise his  profession.  He  is  quiet  in  manner, 
but  well  read,  and  shares  largely  in  his 
father's  benevolent  views.  Books  are  his 
fad,  and  he  spends  much  of  his  income  on 
his  own  library,  which  is  one  of  the  choicest 
private  libraries  in  New  York,  and  in  giving 
rare  and  useful  books  to  the  college  in 
Texas  which  bears  the  family  name.  His 
generosity  is  bounded  only  by  his  income. 

After  forty-three  years  spent  in  working 
together  for  the  uplifting  of  humanity,  in 
the  year  1894  Mrs.  Simmons's  health  be- 
came frail.  Change  of  place  and  the  best 
medical  skill  were  unavailing,  and  on  Sep- 
tember 24,  she  was  called  to  a  life  above. 
She  passed  away  as  peacefully  and  gently  as 
a  child  going  to  sleep  in  its  mother's  arms. 

The   funeral   services  were   conducted   by 


Married  Life  31 

Dr.  R.  S.  MacArthur,  and  the  body  was 
laid  to  rest  in  the  Quaker  graveyard  near 
Providence,  the  home  of  her  childhood. 
Her  grief-stricken  husband  with  a  sad  heart 
turned  away  to  face  the  duties  of  life  alone. 

Some  extracts  from  the  hundreds  of  let- 
ters of  condolence  which  poured  in  from 
every  quarter  of  the  globe — for  this  "  elect 
lady "  was  known  around  the  world — are 
here  given. 

Rev.  Thomas  Armitage,  D.D.,  LL.  D.,  for 
forty  years  pastor  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Bap- 
tist church,  writes: 

"  Dr.  James  B.  Simmons  has  met  with  the 
greatest  affliction,  in  the  death  of  his  wife, 
that  has  ever  overtaken  him;  an  affliction 
which  only  his  own  soul  can  ifeel  in  all  the 
*  bitterness  of  grief.'  I  have  met  with  but 
few  '  elect  ladies '  whose  sound  sense  and 
Christliness  exceeded  those  great  attributes 
in  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Simmons.  The  root  sense 
of  the  word  '  wife  '  is  '  weaver,'  because  she 
presided  at  the  loom — making  raiment  for  the 
family,  long  before  factories  for  silk,  cotton, 
and  linen,  were  thought  of  at  all.  In  cases 
like  that  of  Mrs.  Simmons,  the  hand-maid 
of  the  Lord  spent  her  life  in  weaving  high 


32  A  Foundation  Builder 

and  broad  character  in  all  its  strength  and 
beauty  of  warp  and  woof.  She  helped  to 
make  the  noble  character  of  Dr.  Simmons. 
Her  grace  delighted  him,  and  her  discretion 
strengthened  him,  at  every  step  of  their 
married  life.  To  him  her  light  was  like 
that  of  the  sun  by  day  and  of  the  stars  by 
night.  And  now,  that  her  untiring  hand 
and  faithful  heart  have  done  their  work, 
her  life  will  beat  on  and  on,  ever  fresh 
and  beautiful  in  each  one  of  her  household. 
Let  my  precious  brother  bear  up  and  carry 
his  burden  manfully.  She  never  wove  one 
black  thread  into  the  texture  of  his  days; 
therefore  let  him  be  grateful  that  God  ever 
gave  him  such  a  wife." 

Dr.  O.  C.  Pope,  of  Texas,  who  had  spent 
months  in  Dr.  Simmons's  home,  wrote: 

"  I  saw  in  The  Inquirer,  Dr.  MacArthur's 
beautiful  tribute  to  the  lovely  character  of 
Mrs.  Simmons.  She  will  always  occupy 
an  exalted  place  in  the  memory  of  myself 
and  my  wife.  She  was  certainly  an  extraor- 
dinary woman.  May  God  comfort  and 
bless  her  sorrowing  household." 

Rev.  J.  B.  Lemon,  of  Connecticut,  wrote: 


Married  Life  33 

"  I  was  away  from  home  and  did  not  learn 
of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Simmons  until  last 
night.  I  am  only  as  a  child  to  Dr.  Sim- 
mons, but  I  do  want  to  extend  him  my 
hand,  and  say  with  the  tens  of  thousands 
who  know  and  love  him,  that  he  has  my 
prayers  and  sympathies  in  this  hour  of  his 
sore  bereavement." 

Rev.  W.  C.  Bitting,  D.D.,  pastor  of  Mt. 
Morris  Baptist  church.  New  York  City, 
said: 

"  Dr.  Simmons  has  lost  a  noble  wife.  Her 
ways  were  all  the  time  full  of  beauty  and 
grace.  I  deeply  sympathize  with  him.  What 
a  joy  it  is  to  believe  the  words  of  Christ 
about  our  dear  ones  who  are  absent  from 
the  body,  but  present  with  the  Lord." 

Rev.  Henry  G.  Weston,  LL.D.,  president 
of  Crozer  Theological  Seminary,  wrote: 

"  Few  men  have  been  blessed  with  such  a 
wife  as  the  Lord  gave  to  Dr.  J.  B.  Simmons; 
and  how  much  she  entered  into  his  life  and 
became  a  part  of  his  very  being  was  evident 
to  every  one.  In  her  death  he  lost  a  part 
of  his  very  self." 


34  A  Foundation  Builder 

Rev.  Dr.  Henry  L.  Wayland,  son  of  the 
president  under  whom  Dr.  Simmons  was 
graduated,  and  for  years  editor  of  the 
National  Baptist,  of  Philadelphia,  and  on 
the  staff  of  The  Examiner,  of  New  York, 
wrote : 

"  I  cannot  tell  how  shocked  and  grieved 
I  was  to  learn  of  the  sad  and  irreparable 
loss  Dr.  Simmons  has  sustained  in  the  death 
of  his  wife.  As  a  family  we  all  esteemed 
her  as  a  truly  Christian  woman.  I  always 
felt  when  I  was  in  Dr.  Simmons's  home, 
that  God  had  given  him  the  greatest  bless- 
ing that  one  can  enjoy  on  earth,  a  loving, 
wise,  noble,  congenial  wife." 

Rev.  George  M.  Stone,  D.D.,  of  Hart- 
ford, Conn.,  sent  the  following: 

*'  I  have  only  just  now  learned  of  the 
death  of  the  beloved  wife  of  Dr.  Simmons, 
whom  I  remember  with  such  vivid  and 
pleasant  interest.  I  cherish  a  very  high  esti- 
mate of  her  qualities  both  mental  and  spirit- 
'ial.  Indeed  I  felt  that  her  cheerfulness  last 
summer  at  Saratoga  was  really  heroic,  con- 
sidering the  suppression  of  natural  suffering 
which    it    involved.      Well,    the     '  Summer 


MARY    E.    SIMMONS    AT    MARRIAGE 


Married  Life  35 

Land  '  with  its  springs  of  pure  joy,  and  its 
visions  of  the  King,  is  better  than  scenes 
below.  But  I  am  aware,  that  the  vanishing 
from  his  side  of  one  so  genial  and  gifted, 
makes  a  vacancy  for  our  brother  beloved  in 
the  Lord,  never  to  be  filled  until  he  passes 
to  the  final  reunion  with  her." 

The  following  is  from  Dr.  Joseph  F.  El- 
der, who,  for  years,  was  on  the  Home  Mis- 
sion Board  when  Dr.  Simmons  was  secre- 
tary: 

"  The  sad  announcement  in  this  morning's 
paper,  of  the  death  of  your  wife  yesterday, 
draws  my  heart  to  you  in  sincere  sympathy. 
I  have  known  you  both  long  enough  to  mark 
the  fondness  and  unity  of  your  married  life, 
and  to  realize  how  utterly  lost  and  lonely 
this  bereavement  leaves  you.  But  she  will 
not  pass  altogether  out  of  your  life.  The 
tender  associations  and  the  hallowed  influ- 
ence of  all  these  years  that  you  have  spent 
together,  will  leave  an  after  glow  of  radi- 
ance, that  will  make  the  night  of  your 
sorrow  less  somber.  And  this  twilight  of 
your  parting  hour  may  blend  with  the 
dawning  light  of  a  happy  meeting,  till  you 
will  scarcely  realize  how  dark  the  night  of 


36  A  Foundation  Builder 

your  separation  might  have  been.  May  the 
cup  of  consolation  which  you  have  so  often 
prepared  for  others,  be  filled  to  overflowing 
for  you  by  him  who  is  the  Father  of  mercies 
and  the  God  of  all  comfort." 

Mrs.  Simmons  was  president,  and  vice- 
president,  of  different  missionary  organiza- 
tions. She  was  also  philanthropic  in  spirit, 
as  well  as  missionary.  For  example,  she  was 
vice-president  of  the  Indian  Association, 
which  has  done  so  much  to  ameliorate  the 
condition  of  the  Red  men.  She  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Baptist  Home  for  the  Aged  in  the 
city  of  New  York.  And  that  board,  in  a 
touching  letter  of  condolence,  said: 

"  Many  of  us  recall  her  devotion  and 
faithful  service,  not  only  in  this  good  cause, 
but  in  many  other  branches  of  Christian 
work.  The  ornament  of  a  meek  and  quiet 
spirit  was  hers,  which  in  the  sight  of  God 
is  of  great  price.  And  so  there  is  adminis- 
tered unto  her  an  abundant  entrance  into  his 
Kingdom." 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  D.  Rockefeller,  the 
warm  personal  friends  of  Mrs.  Simmons, 
wrote : 


Married  Life  37 

"We  desire  to  renew  our  assurances  of 
sympathy  for  you  and  yours  in  the  time  of 
great  affliction.  Mrs.  Simmons  will  be  re- 
membered by  a  host  of  friends,  and  her 
works  will  continue  to  bless  the  world  for 
long  years  to  come. 

"  Permit  us  to  express  our  best  wishes  for 
the  success  of  the  College  work,  and  believe 
it  will  be  the  means  of  accomplishing  great 
good." 

No  man  knows  a  woman  as  her  husband 
does,  and  here  is  an  extract  from  a  private 
letter  of  Dr.  Simmons  to  his  brother  Ed- 
ward, which  is  only  a  just  tribute  to  his 
devoted  wife: 

"  For  the  first  time  since  I  buried  her 
precious  remains,  nearly  twenty-one  months 
ago,  I  have  visited  her  grave.  It  is  in  a  charm- 
ing spot,  close  by  her  father  and  mother  and 
grandfather  and  grandmother.  By  her  side 
a  space  is  left  for  me.  The  thought  of  rest, 
peaceful,  and  eternal,  begins  to  seem  pleas- 
ant. 

"  Aside  from  my  eternal  well-being  in 
Christ, — of  which  I  am  not  here  speaking, — 
the  gift  of  God  to  me  of  Mary  E.  Stevens 
to  be  my  wife,  crowns  all  the  rest.     Nobody 


38  A  Foundation  Builder 

knows,  nobody  can  know,  the  value  she  was 
to  me.  So  good,  so  wise,  so  patient,  so 
cheerful,  so  hopeful,  so  genial  towards  all 
around  her,  so  gifted  and  gracious  in  a 
thousand  ways,  for  every  day  of  our  married 
life  she  was  an  untold  blessing  in  my  house- 
hold, and  in  my  public  life  as  well.  Her 
woman's  quick  intuition,  her  rare  practical 
judgment,  and  her  gracious  qualities  of 
mind  and  heart,  made  her  an  invaluable 
counsellor.  Over  and  over  again  all  along 
during  the  forty-three  years  we  lived  so  joy- 
fully together,  it  was  my  habit  to  lay  be- 
fore her  practical  and  intricate  problems 
which  had  perplexed  me  in  my  thinking  for 
days  and  perhaps  weeks  or  even  months, 
and  she  would  solve  them  in  a  moment, 
right  off-hand.  It  was  marvellous!  Some- 
times I  would  deem  the  matter  so  weighty 
and  important  as  to  ask  her  to  take  time  be- 
fore giving  me  her  opinion.  Almost  always 
she  would  reply,  '  My  mind  is  already  made 
up.'  And  I  can  scarcely  remember  an  in- 
stance in  which  her  conclusions  were  not 
unerring. 

"  So  far  as  my  public  life  was  concerned, 
there  was  never  a  moment  in  which  she  failed 
to  fill  her  place  by  my  side  splendidly.  Many 
distinguished  men  visited  our  home  and  sat 
at    our    table.      And    it   was    the    universal 


JAMES  B.  SIMMONS,  AT  26  YEARS  OF  AGE 


Married  Life  39 

verdict  that  she  presided  gracefully  and 
entertained  her  guests  elegantly.  It  was 
marvellous  with  what  lady-like  dignity  and 
ease  and  naturalness  she  met  all  the  re- 
quirements of  occasions  like  these.  Indeed 
with  all  classes,  from  the  highest  and  most 
famous  to  the  humblest  and  most  obscure, 
she  was  equally  at  home,  and  equally  pleas- 
ing and  companionable  and  attractive.  She 
was  introduced  personally  to  two  of  the 
Presidents  of  the  United  States,  one  in 
Washington  and  one  at  Saratoga,  and  also 
to  other  men  quite  as  eminent  as  they,  and 
she  conversed  with  them  as  sensibly  and 
cordially,  and  with  as  straightforward  readi- 
ness and  good  taste  as  with  the  humblest  in 
our  mission  work  among  the  poor.  All 
classes  were  attracted  to  her.  She  was 
greatly  admired,  and  greatly  beloved  by  all 
classes.  Only  recently,  on  the  street,  I  have 
met  two  persons  who  knew  her  and  who 
spoke  of  her  with  enthusiasm.  One  of  her 
seamstresses,  on  hearing  of  her  death,  burst 
into  tears  and  exclaimed,  'Well!  she  was 
the  best  woman  I  ever  worked  for!'  More 
than  a  hundred  letters  of  condolence, — per- 
haps nearer  two  hundred, — have  come  to  me 
concerning  her  death.  They  came  from  all 
over  the  United  States,  from  Mexico,  from 
Canada,  from  Great  Britain,  from  Europe, 


40  A  Foundation  Builder 

Asia,  and  Africa,  and  even  from  the  *  islands 
of  the  sea.' 

"  The  memorial  service  they  held  over  her 
death,  two  thousand  miles  away,  down  in 
Abilene,  Texas,  and  the  polished  marble 
tablet  that  those  strangers  who  never  saw 
her  face  erected  in  the  College  down  there 
that  bears  our  family  name,  show  the  power 
that  her  character  is  wielding." 


IV 
LIFE  AS  PASTOR 

WHILE  Dr.  Simmons  was  yet  a  stu- 
dent at  Newton,  he  was  invited  by 
the  Third  Baptist  church,  in  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  to  become  its  pastor,  and  he 
accepted  and  entered  upon  his  labours  in  the 
summer  of  1854.  His  classmate  and  life- 
long friend,  Dr.  Warren  Randolph,  assisted 
in  his  ordination,  and  his  old  instructor.  Dr. 
Francis  Wayland,  offered  the  ordaining 
prayer. 

Dr.   Randolph  said: 

"  When  J.  B.  Simmons  entered  the  Sopho- 
more class  of  Brown  University  I  was  there 
to  greet  him  as  classmate,  and  as  one  like 
him,  looking  forward  to  the  Baptist  ministry. 
A  fellow  feeling  at  once  sprang  up  between 
us,  and  the  work  to  which  we  were  both 
looking  forward,  engaged  our  attention. 
During  the  latter  part  of  the  college  course 
we  were  drawn  still  nearer  together  by  being, 

41 


42  A  Foundation  Builder 

with  two  other  collegians,  frequent  visitors 
in  the  pleasant  home  circle  where  my  friend 
Simmons  found  that  '  most  precious  wife,' 
who  was  his  helper  and  his  joy  for  more 
than  forty  of  the  following  years." 

Dr.  Randolph  extended  the  hand  of  fel- 
lowship to  Dr.  Simmons  on  behalf  of  the 
council,  and  made  a  most  touching  address, 
referring  to  their  early  struggles  together  to 
obtain  an  education,  and  the  strange  co- 
incidence by  which  they  both  became  pas- 
tors in  the  same  city  in  New  England,  though 
neither  of  them  was  a  native  of  that  section. 
Of  his  pastorate  in  Providence,  Dr.  Ran- 
dolph later  said: 

*'  Introduced  thus,  into  the  pastorate  of 
the  Third  Baptist  church,  of  Providence, 
R.  I.,  James  B.  Simmons  soon  made  his  in- 
fluence felt,  not  only  in  that  church,  but  in 
the  city  and  throughout  the  State.  The 
church  had  long  been  one  of  the  most  active 
in  personal  religious  work  of  all  the  churches 
in  the  city.  In  the  new  pastor  they  found 
an  energetic  leader.  If  his  earnestness  and 
zeal  sometimes  outran  the  church,  yet  as  a 
whole  they  rejoiced   in  his   leadership,   and 


Life  as  Pastor  43 

had,  under  his  vigorous  leadership,  a  greatly 
quickened  life.  He  was  too  far  advanced 
in  his  ideas  and  methods  to  gain  the  heartiest 
approval  and  co-operation  of  all  his  mem- 
bers, but  he  commended  himself  '  to  every 
man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God.'  In 
this  first  pastorate  he  gained  for  himself  the 
name  of  a  '  reformer,'  and  though  some  of 
the  reforms  which  he  advocated  have  not 
yet  been  brought  about,  he  made  for  him- 
self a  place  in  the  Providence  ministry, 
which  is  held  in  honour  to  this  day." 

In  his  Providence  church  Dr.  Simmons 
found  a  man  of  some  reputation  and  high 
political  position  who  often  spoke  unhand- 
somely of  young  preachers.  On  one  occa- 
sion when  he  had  been  particularly  severe 
and  offensive,  Dr.  Simmons  cornered  him 
at  the  close  of  the  meeting  and  asked  him 
to  give  particulars  or  else  retract  his  un- 
just and  unkind  utterances.  The  man  (I 
think)  was  Lieutenant-Governor  Thurston, 
but  of  this  I  am  not  quite  sure.  He  indig- 
nantly resented  the  attempt  of  Dr.  Sim- 
mons to  secure  a  retraction  of  the  offensive 
remarks,  and  gave  him  to  understand  that 
apologies  or  explanations  even  were  jobs  he 


44  A  Foundation  Builder 

never  undertook.  Kindly,  but  emphatically, 
Dr.  Simmons  insisted  on  retraction.  He 
asked  it,  not  for  himself  as  a  young  minister, 
but  for  the  brotherhood  that  had  been  as- 
sailed. One  week  was  given  the  offender  to 
take  back  what  had  been  said.  The  trans- 
gressor was  not  on  hand  at  the  next  meeting. 
The  pastor  followed  him  up,  and  before  a 
month  w^as  over  the  brother  made  a  full,  fair, 
candid  acknowledgment  before  the  church, 
to  the  amazement  of  those  who  knew  him 
best. 

It  was  in  this  pastorate  that  Dr.  Simmons 
began  the  work  of  tract  distribution,  for 
which  he  was  ever  afterwards  noted  in  all 
the  different  positions  which  he  filled.  He 
rarely  ever  wrote  a  letter  that  he  did  not 
tuck  a  tract  of  some  kind  into  it.  He  began 
in  this  manner:  He  asked  the  church  to  give 
him  a  hundred  dollars  with  which  to  pur- 
chase good  books  and  tracts  for  distribution 
among  the  people.  This  request  was  some- 
what startling  in  a  staid  church  in  a  New 
England  city,  by  so  young  a  man.  After 
some   discussion,   a   brother   named   Stephen 


ROBERT    S.    SIMMONS    AT    3O 


Life  as  Pastor  45 

G.  Mason,  arose  and  said  he  would  furnish 
the  hundred  dollars  if  the  pastor  would 
furnish  the  missionaries  to  do  the  work  of 
distribution.  His  proposition  was  accepted, 
and  the  young  pastor  organized  all  the 
members,  who  would  volunteer,  into  a  body 
of  mission  workers  to  distribute  the  tracts 
and  accompany  them  with  words  of  warning 
and  counsel.  The  consequence  was  a  general 
awakening  of  the  church  and  congregation  to 
greater  Christian  activity. 

Years  after.  Dr.  Simmons  met  Mr.  Mason 
and  said  to  him,  "  You  cheated  me  in  that 
trade  you  made  with  me  in  Providence.  I 
had  much  the  hardest  end  of  the  bargain." 
"  Yes,"  said  Mason,  "  I  knew  at  the  time 
that  I  had  the  easiest  task,  but  neither  of  us 
ought  to  complain,  as  great  good  resulted 
from  the  work." 

In  1857  Dr.  Simmons  was  called  by  the 
First  Baptist  church,  Indianapolis,  Ind., 
then  regarded  as  "  away  out  West."  After 
much  prayer  and  visiting  the  field,  he  ac- 
cepted. Again  we  quote  from  Dr.  Randolph, 
who  afterwards  became  pastor  of  the  same 
church : 


46  A  Foundation  Builder 

"  Though  his  place  was  changed,  his 
power  was  not  lost.  The  Baptist  cause  in 
the  great  State  of  Indiana  was  not,  at  that 
day,  in  a  prosperous  condition.  Fever  and 
ague  was  then  the  scourge  of  many  sections 
of  the  State,  and  the  religious  life  was  lan- 
guid. The  church  to  which  Mr.  Simmons 
was  called  was  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  and 
the  city  itself  was  the  moral,  the  political, 
and  the  geographical  centre  of  the  State. 
It  was  not  the  existing  power  of  the  church, 
but  its  possibilities  and  prospective  useful- 
ness that  drew  the  new  pastor  to  it.  He 
saw  the  great  work  needed  in  the  interests 
of  Christian  education  and  of  religion,  and 
into  this  work  he  threw  himself  vy^ith  all 
the  ardour  of  his  nature.  He  had  more  to 
contend  with  here  than  he  had  previously 
encountered.  In  New  England  he  had  come 
in  contact  with  men  quite  as  radical  as  him- 
self. In  Indiana  he  was  surrounded  with  an 
atmosphere  of  Bourbon  conservatism.  His 
bold  championship  of  what  he  believed  to 
be  the  will  of  God  and  for  the  highest  inter- 
ests of  humanity  awakened  the  wrath  of 
'  those  who  were  without,'  who  were  ready  to 
'  gnash  on  him  with  their  teeth.'  As  a  re- 
sult, while  he  suffered  no  personal  injury, 
the  house  of  worship  in  which  he  preached 
was    burned.      Proof    that   enraged    enemies 


Life  as  Pastor  47 

fired  It  was  perhaps  never  established.  But 
'  lewd  fellows  of  the  baser  sort '  greatly  dis- 
liked and  openly  denounced  the  radical  anti- 
slavery  doctrine,  and  his  meeting  house  was 
burned.  That  was  the  most  serious  attempt 
made  to  answer  his  arguments,  or  to  counter- 
act his  Influence.  Undaunted,  however,  he 
pressed  on,  and  when  he  left  Indiana  he  left 
a  greatly  strengthened  and  wisely  compacted 
church,  as  the  result  of  his  persistent  and 
painstaking  work." 

In  Indianapolis  Dr.  Simmons  one  day 
met  a  prominent  man  of  his  church  reeling 
drunk  on  one  of  the  most  public  streets.  Of 
course  he  said  nothing  to  the  man  at  the 
time,  but  very  quickly  he  got  him  alone. 
The  man  was  thoroughly  penitent,  and  ex- 
pressed his  willingness  to  take  any  step  the 
pastor  might  require.  Dr.  Simmons  told 
him  that  the  offence  was  too  public  to  be 
privately  confessed.  He  must  appear  the 
following  Sunday  morning  before  the  entire 
congregation  and  there  humbly  acknowl- 
edge his  sin.  He  did  it  as  soon  as  the  ser- 
mon closed  the  next  Sabbath;  he  came  for- 
ward, and  standing  before  the  pulpit,  he 
made   so   humble   and   complete   an    admis- 


48  A  Foundation  Builder 

sion  of  his  lapse  that  others  were  moved  to 
tears  of  pity  by  his  words. 

In  Indianapolis  he  secured  a  superb  lot 
for  a  church  building. 

Rev.  T.  R.  Cressy  and  Dr.  Sydney  Dyer 
were  among  his  predecessors,  and  Dr.  Henry 
Day,  Dr.  Warren  Randolph,  Dr.  Reuben 
Jeffrey,  Dr.  H.  C.  Mabie,  and  Dr.  T.  J. 
Villers  have  been  among  his  successors. 

The  following  are  among  the  missionaries 
who  have  gone  out  from  this  church:  Mrs. 
Rosa  Adams  Bailey,  to  Burma;  E.  W.  and 
M.  M.  Clark,  to  the  Naga  Hills,  Assam; 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Newcomb,  to  India;  and 
Frank  H.  Levering,  to  India. 

From  the  records  of  the  church  is  made 
the  following: 

"In  October,  1861,  Rev.  J.  B.  Simmons 
resigned  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  church, 
and  the  resignation  was  accepted  in  defer- 
ence to  his  judgment  of  what  seemed  to 
him  to  be  the  voice  of  God  calling  him  to 
another  field.  Many  expressions  of  sincere 
regret  were  made  at  parting.  His  Christian 
fidelity  was  commended,  and  the  church 
pledged  itself  to  pray  for  his  highest  success 


MARY  E.   SIMMONS   AT  30 


Life  as  Pastor  49 

with  the  people  to  whom  he  was  called,  and 
commended  him  to  their  confidence  and 
love." 

Again  we  quote  from  Dr.  Warren  Ran- 
dolph concerning  Dr.  Simmons's  next  pas- 
torate : 

"  His  next  great  work  was  in  Philadel- 
phia, where  he  became  pastor  of  the  Fifth 
Baptist  church.  This  was  probably  the  most 
perilous  undertaking  of  his  life,  but,  in  the 
good  providence  of  God,  it  led  to  the  grand- 
est success,  which,  as  pastor,  he  ever 
achieved. 

"  The  Fifth  church  was  a  reorganized 
body  from  the  famous  old  Sansom  Street 
church,  in  whose  old  round  house  of  wor- 
ship Dr.  Stoughton  gained  his  great  fame  as 
a  preacher.  But  by  removals  from  the  lo- 
cality, the  church  had  become  so  enfeebled 
that  it  was  found  impossible  to  maintain  it 
in  its  location  on  Sansom  Street  below  Ninth. 
The  property,  however,  was  valuable,  and 
being  sold,  a  lot  was  bought  and  the  work 
begun  of  building,  at  Eighteenth  and  Spring 
Garden  streets,  a  more  elegant  house  of 
worship  than  the  Baptists  had  till  then  at- 
tempted in  Philadelphia.  But  the  time 
proved  unpropitious.     The  civil  war  came 


50 


A  Foundation  Builder 


on,    and    the    work    of    building    abruptly 
ceased.     The   chapel    only   had   been   com- 


Fifth  Baptist  Church,  cor.  Eighteenth  and  Spring  Gar- 
den Streets,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Erected  During  the 
Pastorate  of  James  B.  Simmons 


pleted.  The  pastor  then  in  charge  was  from 
the  South.  His  sympathies  were  with  the 
Seceding  States,  and  so  strongly  with  them 


Life  as  Pastor  51 

that  he  expressed  regret  that  the  guns  of 
Fort  Sumter  had  not  blown  the  '  Star  of 
the  West '  out  of  the  water.  Abruptly  he 
resigned  and  left.  The  church,  loyal  to  the 
country,  to  Christ,  and  to  one  another,  was 
'  cast  down,  but  not  destroyed.'  That  it  was 
troubled  on  every  side,  perplexed,  and  per- 
haps some  of  its  members  were  well-nigh 
ready  to  despair,  need  not  be  denied.  Left 
without  a  leader,  and  with  an  unfinished 
house  of  worship,  with  a  debt  upon  what  had 
been  builded,  with  an  enormous  shrinkage 
upon  all  kinds  of  securities,  and  with  a 
fierce  civil  war  raging,  the  end  of  which  no 
one  could  see,  a  darker  sky  can  hardly  be 
imagined.  In  these  circumstances  the  church 
extended  a  call  to  James  B.  Simmons,  and 
he  took  his  place  at  their  head.  Rev.  Dr. 
John  Newton  Brown,  then  the  Nestor  of  the 
Baptists  of  that  region,  who  had  once  been 
a  member  of  the  Sansom  Street  church,  in 
speaking  of  Mr.  Simmons  and  his  great 
undertaking,  said  to  me,  '  He'll  need  to 
put  a  cheerful  courage  on.'  And  he  did 
put  it  on.  And  God,  and  the  courage  God 
gave  him,  carried  him  through  what  many 
thought  an  almost  hopeless  task. 

"  I  was  at  the  time  pastor  in  the  sub- 
urban village  of  Germantown.  At  Mr.  Sim- 
mons's   recognition   in   this   new  pastorate   I 


52  A  Foundation  Builder 

gave  him  the  hand  of  fellowship,  for  the 
second  time  as  I  had  done  seven  years  be- 
fore for  the  first  time  at  his  ordination  in 
Providence.  And  it  may  not  be  thought 
amiss  for  me  to  add  here  that  I  have  twice 
followed  Dr.  Simmons  in  the  pastorate, — in 
1867  at  the  Fifth  church,  Philadelphia;  and 
in  1877  at  the  First  church,  Indianapolis, — 
so  that  reverently  using  the  words  of  the 
inspired  Master,  I  may  say,  '  We  speak  that 
we  do  know,  and  testify  that  we  have  seen.' 
"  The  details  of  Dr.  Simmons's  work  in 
Philadelphia  would  require  a  volume  at 
least.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  church 
under  his  ministration  had  a  marvellous 
growth.  The  Sunday  school,  or  Bible  school, 
as  he  more  properly  taught  the  people  to  call 
it,  became  a  greater  marvel  still.  When  the 
present  writer  took  Dr.  Simmons's  place, 
upon  the  latter's  removal  to  New  York,  he 
found  the  church  numbering,  as  now  re- 
membered, 536,  while  in  the  Bible  school 
not  far  from  1,000  were  enrolled,  and  nearly 
400  of  them  were  adults,  organized  in  a  de- 
partment by  themselves.  The  entire  church 
building  was  devoted  to  the  uses  of  the 
school — main  audience  room,  chapel,  church 
parlor,  and  even  the  pulpit  platform.  The 
last  named  was  large,  and  here  it  was  that 
Mrs.    Simmons   had   had   a   class   of    thirty 


Life  as  Pastor  53 

adults.  Probably  in  no  other  country  was 
the  Sunday  school  such  a  right  arm  of 
power  at  that  time,  as  in  this  famous  old 
church.  Pastor  Simmons  both  believed  and 
taught,  that,  unless  circumstances  prevented, 
every  member  of  the  church  should  be  in 
the  school.  And,  determined  to  lift  it  still 
further  out  of  littleness,  he  insisted  on  call- 
ing it  the  '  Bible  school,'  a  name  which 
many  others  have  since  adopted.  Holding 
that  it  ought  to  be  the  church  at  work  in 
that  particular  direction,  he  was  accustomed 
to  announce  its  sessions  as  regularly  as  he 
announced  the  weekly  prayer  meeting  or  the 
Sabbath  preaching.  He  had  no  sympathy 
with  the  fear  of  soiling  the  house  by  too 
much  using,  and  so  he  insisted  on  its  being 
thrown  entirely  open  for  Bible  study,  as 
well  as  for  preaching;  for,  he  pertinently 
asked,  '  What  is  the  meeting  house  for,  if  it  is 
not  to  save  souls  in?'  No  Philadelphia 
summer  was  ever  so  hot  as  to  cause  a  sus- 
pension of  the  preaching  and  Bible  school 
service;  but  once,  it  is  related,  the  sexton 
ventured  to  turn  out  the  lights  in  the  main 
audience  room  on  a  stormy  night,  giving  as 
a  reason,  that  the  chapel  would  hold  all 
who  would  come,  but  the  pastor  was  so  in- 
tent on  having  the  brightest  light  on  the 
darkest  and  most  forbidding  night  that  the 


54  A  Foundation  Builder 

over-cautious    sexton    never   tried    to    econo- 
mize on  light  again! 

"  The  main  church  edifice,  whose  com- 
pletion has  already  been  indicated,  was  fin- 
ished and  paid  for  in  the  early  part  of  Dr. 
Simmons's  pastorate.  From  that  day  to  this, 
it  has  gladdened  the  eyes  of  all  beholders. 
It  was  at  once  declared  to  be  one  of  the 
most  beautiful,  and  purest  English  Gothic 
buildings  in  America.  Here  is  a  picture  of 
it.  It  is  not  a  wooden  structure,  painted 
and  sanded  to  make  it  represent  what  it  is 
not,  but  is  built  of  the  handsomest,  choicest 
free-stone.  Its  value,  including  the  land  on 
which  it  stands,  was,  soon  after  its  com- 
pletion, fixed  at  $150,000.  With  the  en- 
hanced values  now  prevailing,  it  is  no  doubt 
at  the  present  time  rated  at  much  more.  Its 
tower,  spire,  and  turrets;  its  pointed  win- 
dows, angles,  and  recesses,  make  it  an  object 
of  universal  admiration.  When  the  builder, 
who  did  not  always  use  language  which 
should  be  employed  about  a  sacred  edifice, 
showed  the  drawings  of  the  rambling  walls 
of  the  foundation  to  my  brother  (a  visiting 
architect),  he  said  to  him,  '  Did  you  ever  see 
such  a  confounded  village  as  that?  '  Meet- 
ing a  "distinguished  Presbyterian  minister  in 
Philadelphia  one  day,  while  I  was  pastor 
at  the  Fifth  church,  he  asked,  '  Where  do 


Life  as  Pastor  55 

you  preach  now?'  When  I  replied,  *  At 
Eighteenth  and  Spring  Garden  streets,'  he 
said,  *  You  have  the  most  beautiful  church 
in  the  city.'  An  Episcopal  rector,  who  was 
afterwards  a  bishop,  upon  learning  that  I 
was  pastor  at  Eighteenth  and  Spring  Gar- 
den streets,  said  to  me,  '  You  have  the  most 
churchly  looking  church  in  Philadelphia.' 
As  long  as  its  shapely  stones  shall  fit  into 
each  other,  and  its  graceful  spire  point  to- 
ward heaven,  in  a  most  important  sense  it 
w^ill  be  a  memorial  of  James  B.  Simmons. 
It  was  after  he  left  Philadelphia  that  two 
universities  told  men  to  call  him  Dr. 
Simmons.  But  his  work  at  Eighteenth  and 
Spring  Garden  did  more  to  honour  him  than 
a  dozen  universities  could  have  done." 

While  pastor  in  Philadelphia,  Dr.  Sim- 
mons wrote  several  tracts  and  booklets. 
His  "  Memorial  Sketches,"  "  Tribute  to  the 
Departed,"  and  "  Young  Child  of  Grace," 
were  all  filled  with  loving  words  and  sweet 
counsel.  But  we  are  giving  sketches  of  his 
life  and  not  of  his  writings,  though  the  lat- 
ter would  be  interesting  and  profitable. 

After  he  had  been  pastor  twelve  and  a 
half  years, — viz. :  Three  years  in  Providence, 


56  A  Foundation  Builder 

four  in  Indianapolis,  and  five  and  one-half  in 
Philadelphia,  God  called  him  to  another 
sphere  of  work.  On  March  17,  1867,  Dr. 
Simmons  addressed  the  following  letter  to 
his  church: 

"  When  I  became  your  pastor,  five  years 
and  five  months  ago,  it  was  with  the  desire 
that  the  relation  might  be  a  permanent  one,  if 
God  should  so  will.  For  twelve  years  I 
have  had  a  growing  conviction  that  the  in- 
stability of  the  pastoral  relation  is  one  of 
the  most  serious  drawbacks  to  the  growth 
and  peace  and  efficiency  of  the  churches. 
What  one  pastor  gains  is  often  seriously  im- 
paired by  the  coming  of  another,  or  lost 
in  the  interval  between.  I  therefore  deter- 
mined that  no  trifle,  no  amount  of  labour,  no 
ordinary  affliction,  and  no  obstacles  thrown 
in  my  way,  should  turn  me  aside  from  my 
work;  in  short,  that  unless  Christ,  v/ho  is  the 
great  Master  of  the  vineyard,  and  who  has 
a  right  to  remove  his  labourers  from  one 
place  to  another,  should  manifestly  inter- 
pose, I  would  keep  to  my  post  until  dis- 
abled by  sickness,  or  till  life  should  end. 
Accordingly  I  laid  my  plans  broad  and 
deep.  My  aim  was,  not  simply  to  save  this 
church,  but  to  train  here  a  band  of  young 


Life  as  Pastor  '57 

spiritual  warriors  who  should  by  and  by 
break  forth  on  every  side  and  take  possession 
of  the  surrounding  territory  in  the  name 
of  Jesus,  the  lawful  king.  I  hoped  that  as 
the  years  passed,  this  church,  already  the 
mother  of  several,  might  be  the  means  of 
originating  two,  three,  or  five  others,  as 
vigorous,  enterprising  and  useful  as  herself. 
My  plans  for  accomplishing  this,  I  have 
never  but  partially  revealed  to  you.  Those 
of  you  who  are  more  enterprising,  daring, 
and  aggressive  in  your  dispositions  would 
have  been,  perhaps,  unduly  elated  by  them; 
and  others  of  you  who  are  more  conservative 
and  love  the  old  paths,  would  have  been  dis- 
turbed at  the  amount  of  money,  sacrifice,  and 
labour  involved.  Hence,  I  have  kept  largely 
my  own  counsels,  and  aimed  to  show  you 
rather  results  than  theories.  The  plan  of 
making  war  upon  evil  before  declaring  it, 
of  doing  a  thing  rather  than  promising  to 
do  it,  is  with  me  a  favourite  method.  I 
regard  it  as  the  New  Testament  method. 
Paul  and  the  other  apostles  tell  us  very  little 
of  what  they  intended  to  do,  but  the  accounts 
are  long  and  full  of  what  they  actually  had 
done. 

"  This  plan  of  working  has  so  much  of 
the  military  in  it, — it  is  so  properly  the 
order   of   proceeding   in   the   movements   of 


^8  A  Foundation  Builder 

the  church  militant  as  she  rallies  her  forces 
and  presses  to  the  victory, — that  it  is  no  mat- 
ter of  surprise  that  some  of  you  have  not 
altogether  enjoyed  it.  Men  whose  age, 
whose  training,  or  whose  temperament  fits 
them  for  peace,  cannot  so  well  enjoy  the  din 
and  disturbance  and  danger  of  war.  I  am 
therefore  not  surprised  that  there  should 
have  been  occasionally  one  who  has  criti- 
cized my  plans  of  attack,  or  stood  in  doubt 
as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  order  of  march.  To 
the  opinions  of  such,  I  have  always  aimed 
to  show  as  much  deference  as  duty  to  the 
King  and  the  success  of  the  campaign  would 
warrant. 

*'  Keeping  to  my  original  purpose,  not 
to  allow  anything  short  of  the  mani- 
fested will  of  the  Saviour  to  divert  me 
from  this  field,  I  have  declined  more 
propositions  to  leave  you  than  any  of  you 
are  aware  of.  Nothing  that  has  occurred 
here  has  determined  me  to  resign ;  for  never 
at  any  period  of  my  pastorate  in  Philadel- 
phia have  I  had  such  general  and  hearty 
co-operation  as  for  the  past  three  months. 
Never  were  there  so  many  of  my  members 
standing  ready  to  work  with  me  and  carry 
out  my  plans.  Never  have  I  received  so 
many  expressions  of  confidence,  so  frequent 
words  of  cheer,  or  so  numerous  proofs  of 


^^^B^^^ 

^^ 

. 

1     ^pfk    • 

m 

K^L^^^^I 

3H 

wj 

w^ 

■B^^^ 

:  .W 

i 

h 

^l^:!! 

^ 

JAMES  B.   SIMMONS  AT  45 


Life  as  Pastor  59 

love.  Never  in  my  whole  history  (and  I 
have  resigned  in  two  churches  before),  has 
there  been  so  little  reason, — nay,  such  entire 
absence  of  reason, — for  a  pastor  to  leave  his 
people.  Everything,  so  far  as  you  are  con- 
cerned, tempts  me  to  stay  with  you. 

"  But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  great  Master 
of  the  vineyard  seems  to  have  called  for 
me.  I  am  summoned  to  help  conduct  the 
affairs  of  our  American  Baptist  Home 
Mission  Society,  whose  object  is  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  throughout  North 
America. 

"  He  who  is  your  Lord  and  mine  alike, 
who  has  redeemed  us  by  His  precious  blood, 
and  who  owns  us,  and  to  w^hom  we  prom- 
ised to  give  ourselves  up  at  the  time  of  our 
conversion  and  baptism  in  total  and  absolute 
subjection,  appears  to  lay  claim  upon  me 
for  this  service.  He  has  spoken  to  me 
through  the  voice,  the  emphatic  and  con- 
current voice  of  numerous  of  my  fellow 
watchmen,  who  stand  widely  apart  upon 
the  walls,  and  in  whose  call  there  is  uncom- 
mon unanimity.  He  has  spoken  to  me  by 
minute  providences,  such  as  I  love  more 
and  more  to  watch,  as  the  years  of  my 
life  move  on.  Chief  of  all  He  has  spoken 
to  me  in  my  inner  spirit,  and  I  dare  not 
disobey. 


6o  A  Foundation  Builder 

^'  I  therefore  resign  my  position  as  pastor 
of  this  church,  to  take  effect  on  the  first  day 
of  April  proximo." 

After  a  lapse  of  ten  years,  during  which 
Dr.  Simmons  was  engaged  in  general  de- 
nominational work,  which  will  be  treated  of 
in  a  subsequent  chapter,  he  was  again  called 
to  the  pastorate,  and  took  charge  of  Trinity 
Baptist  church  in  New  York  in  1877.  Here 
he  laboured  for  eight  and  a  half  years,  up- 
building the  cause  in  a  section  of  the  city 
which  was  considered  missionary  ground. 
He  had  the  financial  support  of  John  D. 
Rockefeller,  and  the  personal  support  of 
Horace  Waters  and  a  host  of  other  workers. 
It  was  a  difficult  field,  requiring  great  pa- 
tience and  skill,  but  he  turned  it  over  to  his 
successor  in  good  condition,  being  called  to 
the  work  of  district  secretary  of  the  Ameri- 
can Baptist  Publication  Society  for  the  State 
of  New  York.  We  again  quote  from  Dr. 
Randolph  as  to  his  pastoral  work: 

"  But  the  greatness  of  his  success  and  the 
elegance  of  his  surroundings  did  not  make 
Dr.  Simmons  forget  that  Christ  gave  as  one 


Life  as  Pastor  6i 

of  the  proofs  of  His  divine  mission,  *  The 
poor  have  the  Gospel  preached  to  them.' 
Always  attaching  great  importance  to  pas- 
toral visitation,  Dr.  Simmons  aimed  at  mak- 
ing it  impartial.  Long  after  he  left  the 
field,  one  of  our  best  informed  deacons 
said  to  me  that  he  had  never  known  a  min- 
ister so  free  from  partiality  as  was  James  B. 
Simmons.  He  strenuously  opposed  all 
favouritism  in  the  house  of  God.  Such  was 
the  influence  of  his  teaching,  that  I  found 
one  of  the  richest  men  in  the  church  ready, 
whenever  there  was  occasion,  to  give  up  his 
seat,  and  take  a  chair  in  the  aisle,  that  a  poor 
man  or  a  stranger  might  be  well  accommo- 
dated. Throughout  his  ministry  he  seemed 
to  be  acting  as  if  the  Master's  voice  was 
continually  ringing  in  his  ears,  saying,  '  In- 
asmuch as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the 
least  of  these  my  brethren  ye  have  done  it 
unto  me.'  Though  somewhat  extensively  ac- 
quainted with  ministers  of  various  denomina- 
tions, I  have  never  known  another  who  laid 
such  stress  on  the  treatment  of  offenders  ac- 
cording to  the  law  laid  down  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, particularly  at  Matthew  18:15-18,  as 
Dr.  J.  B.  Simmons.  It  is  said  that  he  re- 
quired candidates  for  baptism  to  commit  to 
memory  the  rules  laid  down  in  the  eighteenth 
chapter    of    Matthew    and    then    sometimes 


62  A  Foundation  Builder 

promise  publicly  to  keep  them.  He  insisted 
also  that  public  sins,  like  drunkenness,  for  ex- 
ample, should  be  publicly  confessed.  Thus 
he  sought  to  make  the  church  pure  and  keep 
it  so.  As  a  wise  master  builder  he  was 
eager  to  obey  the  instructions  of  him  who 
said,  *  See  that  thou  make  all  things  accord- 
ing to  the  pattern  showed  thee.'  " 


D 


V 
HIS  LIFE  AS  SECRETARY 

R.    WARREN    RANDOLPH    very 
truly  says: 


*'  One  of  the  most  touching  pictures 
of  the  late  Dr.  John  A.  Broadus  was 
given  at  the  service  memorial  of  him,  w^hen 
it  was  said,  '  The  shadow  of  a  broken  heart 
seemed  to  be  upon  him  when  he  gave  up  the 
work  of  a  pastor  and  a  preacher  for  that  of 
a  theological  instructor.'  Yet  he  doubtless 
obeyed  the  call  of  God  when  he  took  up 
this  new  work,  as  much  as  when  he  first 
came  to  say,  '  Woe  is  unto  me  if  I  preach 
not  the  Gospel.'  In  the  greater  service  of 
teaching  others  how  to  preach  he  made  his 
life  illustrious.  And  so  other  men  called 
of  God  to  preach  may,  by  a  later  call,  be 
led  to  turn  to  even  higher,  though  co-ordinate 
forms  of  work. 

"  Thus  it  was  with  the  subject  of  this 
sketch.  Grand  as  the  work  of  James  B. 
Simmons  was  while  he  wrought  in  the  pas- 

63 


64  A  Foundation  Builder 

torate,  he  entered  a  field  of  wider  sweep 
and  made  still  grander  achievements  for  the 
cause  of  Christ,  when  he  left  the  pastorate 
for  the  secretaryship  of  the  American  Bap- 
tist Home  Mission  Society.  But,  like  Dr. 
Broadus,  under  '  the  shadow  of  a  broken 
heart,'  he  turned  away  from  a  pastorate  of 
'  unsurpassed  attractions,'  to  take  a  fore- 
most place  in  directing  the  great  work  of  a 
society  whose  aim  is  embodied  in  the  motto 
which  Dr.  Simmons  himself  originated,  viz.: 
*  North   America   for   Christ.'  " 

As  corresponding  secretary  of  the  Ameri- 
can Baptist  Home  Mission  Society,  Dr.  Sim- 
mons superintended  the  appointment  and 
paying  of  the  missionaries  in  the  field,  and 
won  golden  opinions  from  his  compeers. 
At  this  time  there  was  great  interest  mani- 
fested by  all  religious  denominations  North 
in  the  condition  of  the  four  millions  of  slaves 
who  had  just  been  freed  by  the  fortunes  of 
war.  Their  ignorance,  poverty,  and  de- 
graded condition  excited  the  sympathy  of 
Christians  and  philanthropists,  and  large 
sums  of  money  were  given  to  do  mission  and 
educational  work  among  them.  It  was  not 
to  be  expected  that  the  white  people  of  the 


His  Life  as  Secretary  65 

South  could  or  would  do  much  in  the  way 
of  educating  the  negroes,  as  that  section 
was  desolated  by  the  war  and  its  inhabitants 
were  generally  engaged  in  a  hard  struggle 
for  the  commonest  necessities  of  life.  The 
negro  must  be  lifted  up,  or  as  a  citizen  he 
would  prove  a  dangerous  factor  in  our 
country.  Other  denominations  were  or- 
ganizing for  this  work,  and  a  few  leading 
Baptists  were  endeavouring  to  rally  the  peo- 
ple and  organize  them  for  this  work  also. 
Something  had  been  accomplished  in  this 
line,  but  it  was  felt  that  the  work  lay  prop- 
erly within  the  sphere  of  the  Home  Mission 
Society,  an  organization  already  formed  and 
enjoying  the  confidence  of  the  denomination 
North.  Conflicting  opinions  as  to  the  matter 
of  work  were  reconciled,  and  at  the  anni- 
versaries at  Boston  in  1869,  it  was  resolved 
to  elect  a  secretary  to  have  in  special  charge 
the  education  and  mission  work  in  the  South, 
and  Dr.  Simmons,  who  was  unwilling  to 
take  charge  of  a  work  for  one  race  only,  was 
elected  corresponding  secretary  for  the  Edu- 
cational and  Southern  Department,  and  soon 
began  an  active  campaign  for  helping  the 


66 


A  Foundation  Builder 


South.  It  was  at  first  determined  that  only 
funds,  specially  designated,  could  be  used 
for  educational  work,  and  this  made  the 
task  more  difficult,  as  the  people  were 
accustomed    to    contribute    to    the    general 


Colver  Institute,  Richmond,    Va. 

work  of  the  Society,  and  Dr.  Simmons's 
special  work  must  be  sustained  by  special 
contributions. 

Richmond  Theological  Seminary 

His  first  effort  was  to  establish  a  Christian 
school  for  freedmen  in  Richmond,  Va.,   the 


His  Life  as  Secretary 


67 


capital  of  the  late  Southern  Confederacy, 
on  a  firm  basis.  Dr.  C.  H.  Corey  was  at 
the  head  of  a  school  called  Colver  Institute, 
taught  in  a  building  called  "  Lumpkins 
Jail,"  and  this  school  was  transferred  to  the 


Ltimpkins  Jail 


Home  Mission  Society.  The  school  had  no 
home,  as  the  Lumpkins  Jail  had  been  rented 
for  the  use  of  the  school.  It  was  formerly 
owned  by  a  man  by  the  name  of  Lumpkins, 
a  slave-dealer,  and  used  by  him  as  a  place 
of   rendezvous  for  slaves,   where  they  were 


68  A  Foundation  Builder 

kept  until  they  were  put  upon  the  market  for 
sale.  It  was  on  low  ground,  and  poorly 
adapted  to  the  purposes  of  a  school.  Dr. 
Simmons  wanted  a  good  building,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  obtaining  an  appropriation  of 
$10,000  from  the  Freedmen's  Bureau,  then 
operated  by  the  Government,  and  with  this 
money  purchased  the  old  United  States  Ho- 
tel, corner  of  Nineteenth  and  Main  streets. 
From  "  A  History  of  Richmond  Theological 
Seminary,"  we  extract  the  following: 

"  The  main  building,  which  is  of  brick, 
fronts  sixty-two  feet  on  Main  Street  and 
fifty  feet  on  Nineteenth  Street.  It  is  four 
stories  high.  An  '  L,'  one  hundred  feet 
long  and  thirty-nine  feet  wide,  runs  along 
Nineteenth  Street.  The  building  was 
erected  in  181 8,  and  it  was  at  the  time  the 
most  fashionable  hotel  of  Richmond.  It 
contains  about  fifty  rooms.  The  property  is 
said  to  have  cost  originally  $110,000.  It  was 
purchased  for  $10,000. 

"  After  obtaining  possession  of  the  build- 
ing it  was  solemnly  dedicated  to  God.  In 
one  of  the  uppermost  rooms  we  knelt  with 
Secretary  Simmons,  and  besought  God's 
blessing   upon    the   building   and   upon    the 


His  Life  as  Secretary  69 

work  of  Christian  education,  for  which  it 
was  to  be  used.  Extensive  repairs  were 
needed;  many  of  the  windows  were  boarded 
up;  pigeons  had  taken  possession  of  some 
of  the  rooms,  and  the  plastering  had  fallen 
in  many  others  of  them. 

"  After  the  duties  of  the  school  were  over, 
the  students  in  the  old  jail  hastened  daily 
with  alacrity  to  the  newly-purchased  build- 
ing, and  in  various  ways  assisted  in  repair- 
ing it;  they  contributed  fully  a  thousand 
dollars'  worth  of  labour.  They  also  gave  of 
their  own  means.  They  went  through  the 
city,  and  from  people,  both  white  and  col- 
oured, they  collected  $1,000.  This  was  se- 
cured in  small  sums,  and  the  list  containing 
the  names  of  contributors  was  more  than  six 
yards  in  length. 

"  The  school  for  a  long  time  had  been 
familiarly  known  as  '  The  Colver  Institute,' 
but  for  satisfactory  reasons  the  more  general 
name,  *  The  Richmond  Institute,'  was  in- 
serted in  the  deed  which  conveyed  the  prop- 
erty to  the  trustees,  and  under  that  name  it 
was  incorporated  by  an  act  passed  by  the 
General  Assembly  of  Virginia,  February 
10,  1876." 

Dr.  Simmons  was  a  member  of  the  first 
board  of  trustees,  and  another  member  of  the 


70  A  Foundation  Builder 

same  board  was  the  sainted  H.  K.  Ellison, 
of  Virginia,  known  and  loved  throughout  the 
entire  South,  and  for  years  corresponding 
secretary  of  the  General  Association  of  Vir- 
ginia. What  a  stroke  of  wisdom  to  unite 
one  of  the  foremost  Baptist  laymen  in  the 
South  with  the  work  of  building  up  a  semi- 
nary for  the  negroes  of  the  South,  and  that, 
too,  in  a  day  when  the  depth  of  sectional  feel- 
ing was  such  as  only  a  few  of  our  older  peo- 
ple can  comprehend.  From  a  letter  to  Dr. 
Corey,  one  of  the  purest  men  of  his  day,  and 
then  president  of  the  Seminary,  dated  Feb- 
uary  12,  1870,  something  of  Dr.  Simmons's 
purpose,  and  of  his  idea  of  self-help  on  the 
part  of  those  for  whom  he  was  labouring,  is 
learned: 

"  My  heart  is  absorbed  with  a  desire,  irre- 
pressible and  painful,  to  found  a  school  like 
yours,  and  in  a  building  as  good  as  yours, 
in  every  one  of  these  Southern  States.  To 
this  grand  work  I  must  give  myself.  Hence, 
I  shall  have  to  leave  you  and  your  students 
the  work  of  putting  that  building  in  order. 
Tell  the  students  so.  Lay  the  heavy  burden 
on  them.  Have  no  scruples.  Tell  them  I 
want  to  know  what  they  will  amount  to  when 


His  Life  as  Secretary  71 

they  become  pastors,  when  each  one  ought 
to  raise  from  $5,000  to  $25,000  alone  in 
building  meeting  houses,  if  all  of  them  to- 
gether cannot  raise  this  small  sum  of  $5,000." 

In  another  letter  to  the  president,  dated 
June  13,  1870,  Dr.  Simmons  says,  "These 
colleges  for  coloured  preachers,  like  the  white, 
cannot  be  carried  along  with  real  power  un- 
less they  can  have  the  benefit  of  permanent 
endowment  funds." 

The  work  that  this  Seminary  has  done  in 
lifting  up  the  coloured  people  and  in  sending 
out  well-equipped  preachers  and  teachers 
for  the  negroes,  will  never  be  known  in  full 
until  the  secrets  of  eternity  are  revealed. 

Benedict  Institute 

Dr.  Simmons  had  scarcely  succeeded  in 
getting  the  school  at  Richmond  housed  be- 
fore he  was  trying  to  found  a  school  in  Co- 
lumbia, S.  C.  He  called  on  a  lady  in  Rhode 
Island,  and  laid  the  wants  of  the  work  before 
her.  She  asked  him  for  his  subscription 
book,  and  saying  that  her  husband  was  dead, 
and  she  wanted  to  be  in  great  part  her  own 


72 


A  Foundation  Builder 


executor  of  her  estate,  put  down  in  the  book, 
$i,ooo,  and  afterwards  kept  adding  to  it, 
at  one  time  $2,000,  at  another  time  $10,000, 
and  then  $10,000  more,  which,  with  smaller 
sums,  made  $25,000  in  all,  given  through 
Dr.  Simmons  to  this  institution,  until  Bene- 


Benedict  Institute^  Columbia,  S.  C. 

diet  Institute,  named  in  honour  of  the  husband 
of  this  noble  woman,  was  finally  established 
in  Columbia,  S.  C.  Mrs.  Benedict  at  her 
death  left  the  greater  part  of  her  estate  to 
this  school,  thus  making  it  one  of  the  best 
equipped  institutions  in  the  Palmetto  State, 


His  Life  as  Secretary  73 

with  an  endowment  of  more  than  $100,000. 
It  is  now  called  Benedict  College. 

Leland  University 

Dr.  Simmons  knew  a  man  living  in  Brook- 
lyn, Holbrook  Chamberlain,  who  had  his 
heart  set  on  building  a  Christian  school  for 
negroes  in  New  Orleans,  the  largest  city 
at  that  time  in  the  South,  but  Deacon  Cham- 
berlain was  so  radical  in  his  views  as  to 
methods,  that  he  was  unwilling  to  co-operate 
with  the  Home  Mission  Society  in  its  work. 
Dr.  Simmons  visited  him  and  they  talked 
and  prayed  together  over  the  matter.  It  was 
finally  agreed  that  they  should  visit  New 
Orleans  together  and  look  over  the  field, 
which  they  did.  They  found  a  splendid 
location  in  what  is  known  as  Carrollton,  the 
best  part  of  the  city,  and  Deacon  Chamber- 
lain finally  agreed  to  put  in  $12,500,  if  Dr. 
Simmons  would,  on  behalf  of  the  Society, 
agree  to  do  the  same.  The  proposition  was 
accepted;  the  property  was  purchased,  the 
deed  presented  to  a  board  of  trustees,  rep- 
resenting the  different  ideas  in  methods,  and 
the  institution,  called  Leland  University  (to 


74 


A  Foundation  Builder 


perpetuate  the  maiden  name  of  Mrs.  Cham- 
berlain), began  its  career  of  usefulness. 
Deacon  Chamberlain  left  the  greater  part 
of    his    property,    amounting    to    more    than 


Leland  Uyiiversity ,  New  Orleans 

$100,000,  to  the  University.  By  the  wise  and 
conciliatory  policy  of  Dr.  Simmons,  con- 
flicting views  were  harmonized,  and  this 
valuable  institution  was  kept  under  the  con- 
trol of  regular  Baptists. 


His  Life  as  Secretary 
Shaw  University 


75 


On  the  way  to  New  Orleans,  Dr.  Sim- 
mons stopped  off  at  Raleigh,  N.  C,  to  look 
over  the  ground  there,  as  he  was  anxious  to 


'^  I  ill  I'  I 


Shaw  Collegiate  Institute,  Raleigh,  N.   C. 

have  a  Baptist  school  in  each  Southern  State. 
He  found  at  Raleigh  a  young  preacher, 
Henry  Martin  Tupper,  who  had  educated 
himself  with  a  view  to  going  as  missionary 
to  Africa,  but  who  had  volunteered  in  the 
Federal  army  that  he  might  acquaint  him- 
self with  the  negro  in  the  South  as  a  prep- 


76  A  Foundation  Builder 

aration  for  his  work  in  Africa.  At  the  close 
of  the  war  he  decided  that  he  could  do 
more  for  Africa  by  establishing  a  school  in 
the  South  to  train  negroes  as  missionaries 
to  Africa.  He  had  built  a  small  church 
house  for  the  freedmen,  with  schoolrooms 
in  the  rear  of  it,  and  was  preaching  to  the 
negroes  and  teaching  those  who  would  come. 
There  was  a  handsome  building  not  quite 
completed,  called  Peace  Institute,  which,  on 
account  of  the  war,  was  in  a  moribund  con- 
dition, and  was  oflfered  for  sale.  Dr.  Sim- 
mons asked  Mr.  Tupper  about  the  building, 
and  the  price  it  was  held  at,  and  learning 
that  the  price  was  $20,000,  and  that  Tupper 
knew  a  man  in  Massachusetts  who  might 
give  $10,000  towards  paying  for  it.  Dr. 
Simmons  advised  him  to  write  to  his  friend. 
He  did  so,  and  Elijah  Shaw  went  down  to 
Raleigh,  looked  at  the  property,  and  agreed 
to  give  one-half  the  money.  When  the 
board  agreed  to  give  the  other  half,  the  own- 
ers of  the  property  refused  to  sell,  because 
the  property  was  wanted  for  a  freedmen's 
school.  On  his  return  from  Nev^^  Orleans, 
Dr.   Simmons  stopped   at  Raleigh   and  was 


His  Life  as  Secretary 


77 


much  disappointed  in  not  getting  the  Peace 
Institute  property.  They  found  that  General 
Berringer  was  willing  to  sell  his  homestead 
of  eight  acres,  well  located,  for  $15,000,  and 


The  Estey  Building,  Raleigh,  N.  C. 


2i  trade  was  at  once  closed,  and  $100  paid 
down,  with  the  remainder  to  be  paid  in  sixty 
days.  Dr.  Simmons  came  on  to  New  York, 
arranged  for  the  money, — Mr.  Shaw  giving 
about  one-half  of  it, — and  then  Shaw  Uni- 


78  A  Foundation  Builder 

versity  was  begun.  It  has  since  been  en- 
larged, and  now  has  good  buildings,  with  de- 
partments of  medicine,  law,  and  theology. 
This  school  is  doing  a  magnificent  work  in 
North  Carolina. 

Wayland  Seminary 

There  was  a  school  started  at  Washington, 
D.  C,  and  Dr.  Simmons  went  there  to  se- 
cure property  and  place  the  school  on  a 
sure  foundation.  From  an  address  delivered 
by  him  before  the  Jubilee  meeting  of  the 
Home  Mission  Society,  in  1882,  we  extract 
the  following: 

"  For  several  hours  one  day.  General  O. 
O.  Howard,  then  at  the  head  of  the  Freed- 
men's  Bureau,  and  I,  rode  together  in  select- 
ing this  spot.  I  was  then  secretary  of  the 
Home  Mission  Society.  He  strongly  and 
repeatedly  urged  that  we  put  our  school 
within  the  grounds  of  Howard  University, 
and  kindly  offered  us  space  for  that  pur- 
pose. But  the  advantages  of  an  independent 
site,  and  the  attractions  of  Meridian  Hill, 
determined  me,  and  our  board  cordially  ap- 
proved.    While  erecting  this  building  I  re- 


His  Life  as  Secretary 


79 


member  to  have  applied  to  the  late  Asa  Wil- 
bur, of  Boston,  to  give  us  his  aid.  He  answered 


,,p^^^;:^^^^^ 


Way  land  Seminary,    Washingto7i,  D.   C. 

v^ith    characteristic    promptness    and    frank- 
ness: 'No,  I  will  not.     For  there  should  be 


8o  A  Foundation  Builder 

no  school  at  Washington.  The  corrupting 
influences  of  Congress  will  destroy  the  morals 
of  the  young  men.'    To  which  I  replied: 

"  *  You  are  mistaken.  We  establish  this 
school  in  Washington  on  purpose.  We 
mean  to  train  our  Freedmen  preachers  right 
there  in  the  face  of  Congress,  to  resist  the 
corruptions  of  Congress,  and  so  to  preach  as 
to  reform  the  morals  of  Congress.'  To  which 
he  wrote  back: 

"  *  If  that  is  your  plan,  all  right;  I  ap- 
prove, and  enclose  to  you  my  check  for  three 
hundred  dollars.'  " 

This  school  was  named  In  honor  of  Presi- 
dent Francis  Wayland,  Dr.  Simmons's  be- 
loved instructor  in  Brown  University.  It 
was  later  consolidated  with  Richmond  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  with  Rev.  Dr.  Malcolm 
MacVicar  as  president.     ^ 

Roger  Williams  University 

In  Nashville  there  was  a  small  school 
struggling  for  existence  under  the  very 
shadow  of  Fisk  University.  Dr.  Simmons 
went  down  there  and  spent  a  month  in  the 
home  of  Dr.  Dake  and  thoroughly  investi- 


His  Life  as  Secretary- 


Si 


gated  the  situation.  A  splendid  property, 
known  as  the  Gordon  estate,  lying  between 
Vanderbilt  University  and  the  city,  was  for 
sale.     Rev.  Dr.  D.  W.  Phillips,  then  at  the 


Nashville  Institute,  Nashville,   Tenn. 


head  of  the  school  known  as  Nashville  In- 
stitute, saw  the  necessity  of  having  a  perma- 
nent home  for  the  school. 

We  extract  from  the  Home  Mission  Her- 
ald, of  September,  1874,  the  following: 


82  A  Foundation  Builder 

''  It  was  therefore  manifest,  that  to  remain 
on  our  muddy  side-hill  lot,  in  a  long  awk- 
ward old  shell  of  a  building,  and  under  the 
shadow  of  the  great  Fisk  University,  rising 
so  proudly  over  our  heads,  meant  death  to 
the  Baptist  school!  For  we  could  not  retain 
either  the  patronage  or  the  respect  of  the 
coloured  people,  or  of  the  whites,  in  such 
circumstances. 

"  The  coloured  people  and  the  white  people 
of  Nashville  therefore,  and  also  Brother 
Phillips  himself,  favoured  leaving  North 
Nashville  after  looking  at  all  the  facts.  I 
told  Brother  Phillips  plainly,  however,  of 
the  prospect  that  I  might  not  remain  at  the 
rooms  after  the  anniversaries,  and  charged 
him  not  to  favour  the  purchase  of  the  thirty 
acres  known  as  the  'Gordon  property'  (sit- 
uated a  mile  and  a  half  away),  except  with 
that  understanding.  And  in  view  of  it  all, 
he  not  only  favoured  the  purchase,  but 
helped  heartily  in  consummating  it;  and  I 
am  of  opinion  that  Professor  Phillips  and  I 
never  did  a  better  month's  work  for  the 
Baptist  denomination  than  in  making  this 
purchase.  Brother  H.  G.  Scovel  and  other 
friends  in  Nashville,  who  generously  assisted 
in  this  important  transaction,  are  entitled  to 
special  mention  and  hearty  praise.  The  mo- 
ment Brother  Phillips  first  saw  the  Gordon 


His  Life  as  Secretary  83 

property,  he  said  to  me,  '  If  we  could  get  that 
place,  it  would  be  everything  we  could 
ask.'  I  had  been  of  this  opinion  for  several 
days,  and  we  did  get  it,  thanks  to  the  kind 
favour  of  our  Heavenly  Father. 

*'  So  pleased  was  one  of  the  noble-hearted 
members  of  our  Board  with  this  purchase 
(Nathan  Bishop,  LL.D.)  that  in  the  midst 
of  the  board  meeting  in  which  I  told  my 
story  of  the  purchase,  after  returning  from 
Nashville  last  March,  he  voluntarily  pledged 
$1,000  towards  meeting  the  payment  of 
September  i ;  and  a  brother  in  Rhode  Island, 
whom  I  went  to  visit  about  the  same  time, 
has  since  pledged  $2,000  more." 

The  property  was  purchased  for  $30,000, 
and  Roger  Williams  University  is  the  result. 
It  has  been  said  that  the  Home  Mission  So- 
ciety has  since  been  offered  $200,000  for 
this  property,  secured  through  the  wise 
management  of  Dr.  Simmons  for  $30,000. 

Augusta  Seminary 

Dr.  Simmons  purchased  a  small  property 
in  Augusta,  Ga.,  and  the  school  there  was 
placed  under  Rev.  J.  T.  Roberts,  LL.D.,  a 
native  of   South  Carolina,   and  was  carried 


84  A  Foundation  Builder 

on  successfully  for  several  years.  But  it  was 
decided  that  Atlanta  was  a  more  central 
position,  and  the  school  was  transferred  to 
that  city  and  became  the  Atlanta  Baptist 
Theological  Seminary. 

Seven  schools  were  thus  founded  directly 
through  the  instrumentality  of  Dr.  Simmons, 
as  the  efficient  secretary  of  the  Home  Mis- 
sion Society,  and  at  a  time  when  sectional 
spirit  was  high  and  prejudices  strong;  yet 
he  held  the  confidence  of  the  brethren  North 
and  won  the  hearts  of  the  brethren  South. 
Another  quotation  from  his  Jubilee  address 
shows  his  breadth  of  feeling  for  the  people 
of  the  South: 

"  The  agony  of  the  nation's  birth-throes  is 
over,  and  we  all  rejoice  together  that  five 
millions  of  our  African  brethren  have  been 
born  unto  liberty.  No  more  earnest  words 
have  been  spoken  in  advocacy  of  the  So- 
ciety's work  among  the  Freedmen,  than  have 
fallen  from  the  lips  of  such  noble  Baptists 
as  Governor  Brown,  of  Georgia;  Dr.  E.  T. 
Winkler,  of  Alabama;  Drs.  Broadus  and 
Boyce,  of  Kentucky;  Drs.  Tupper  and  Curry, 
of  Virginia,  and,  last  of  all,  our  own  gen- 


His  Life  as  Secretary  85 

erous-hearted  brother,  the  inimitable  editor 
of  the  Religious  Herald,  Dr.  A.  E.  Dickin- 
son. And  these  brethren  are  not  only  talk- 
ing on  our  side,  but  some  of  them  are  be- 
ginning to  give  of  their  money,  and  are 
also  encouraging  others  in  the  South  to  give. 
This  is  as  it  should  be.  The  South  cannot 
afford  to  neglect  these  people,  who  are 
starving  for  the  bread  of  life  at  their  very 
doors." 

Dr.  Nathan  Bishop,  who  was  afterward 
the  efficient  secretary  of  the  Home  Mission 
Society,  was  the  bosom  friend  and  chief- 
counsellor  of  Dr.  Simmons  in  his  great  v^ork 
of  establishing  these  schools.  He  gave 
thousands  of  dollars  to  aid  in  planting  and 
sustaining  them;  and,  in  speaking  of  Bishop 
College  at  Marshall,  Tex.,  established  after 
his  death  by  that  elect  lady,  Mrs.  C.  C. 
Bishop,  his  wife.  Dr.  Simmons  says,  in  the 
Jubilee   address: 

"  The  Bishop  Baptist  College,  at  Marshall, 
Tex.,  was  established  in  1881.  It  is  named 
in  honor  of  Nathan  Bishop,  LL.D.,  the 
memory  of  whose  wisdom  and  piety  hallows 
all     our     denominational     assemblies.       Dr. 


86  A  Foundation  Builder 

Bishop  said  to  me  one  day  as  we  were  to- 
gether alone: 

"  '  I  have  been  blamed  for  giving  so  many 
thousand  dollars  for  the  benefit  of  coloured 
men.  But  I  expect  to  stand  side  by  side 
with  these  men  on  the  Day  of  Judgment. 
Their  Lord  is  my  Lord.  They  and  I  are 
brethren;  and  I  am  determined  to  be  pre- 
pared for  that  meeting.' 

"  These  sound  and  devout  words  will  one 
day  be  engraven,  I  doubt  not,  upon  some 
mural  tablet  within  the  enclosure  of  the  in- 
stitution that  bears  his  name,  and  in  the  eyes 
of  all  right-thinking  men  will  constitute  his 
best  epitaph." 

Dr.  Simmons  afterwards  wrote  an  appre- 
ciative sketch  of  Dr.  Bishop's  life  under  the 
title,  "  The  Man  Greatly  Beloved." 

In  1874  Dr.  Simmons  closed  his  work  and 
retired,  as  secretary  of  the  Home  Mission 
Society.  At  the  anniversaries  at  Washing- 
ton, the  following  resolution,  offered  by  Dr. 
H.  L.  Wayland,  was  adopted: 

"  Rev.  James  B.  Simmons,  D.D.,  entered 
on  his  labours  as  corresponding  secretary  in 
1867;  tvv^o  years  later  the  work  of  the  So- 
ciety  was    divided;    and    the    Southern    and 


His  Life  as  Secretary  87 

Educational  Department  was  committed  to 
him.  The  present  condition  of  our  educa- 
tional work  in  the  Southern  States  bears  a 
most  impressive  testimony  to  the  wisdom, 
the  energy,  and  the  consecration  exhibited  in 
the  location  and  the  conduct  of  the  Freed- 
men's  schools  and  in  the  development  of 
Christian  enterprise  and  liberality  in  their 
behalf.  He  has  written  his  name  upon  the 
religious  history  of  an  emancipated  race. 
Their  future  will  be  his  monument.  We 
cannot  ask  more  in  his  behalf,  than  that  the 
same  blessing  of  God  may  attend  him  in  the 
labour  for  God  and  man  which  may  here- 
after engage  his  powers." 

We  cannot  close  this  sketch  of  his  life  as 
secretary  without  reference  to  his  work  for 
Mexico.  He  had  heard  that  there  was  a 
young  Englishman,  Thomas  M.  Westrup, 
who  was  a  Baptist,  living  in  Monterey,  Mex- 
ico, and  a  licensed  preacher.  He  wrote  to 
Mr.  Westrup,  to  meet  him  in  New  Orleans 
and  talk  over  the  field.  Westrup  came  with 
Dr.  Simmons  to  New  York,  and  uniting  with 
the  Strong  Place  church,  Brooklyn,  was  or- 
dained a  missionary  and  sent  back  to  Mexico. 
He  laboured  several  years  under  the  board 


88  A  Foundation  Builder 

of  the  Home  Mission  Society,  and  succeeded 
in  organizing  several  churches.  The  work 
in  Mexico  was  afterward  discontinued  by  the 
Home  Mission  Society,  but  the  churches 
maintained  their  organization  through  a 
period  of  about  ten  years,  without  any  help 
from  the  Board.  Dr.  O.  C.  Pope  visited 
that  field  and  recommended  that  the  Home 
Mission  Society  again  take  up  the  work, 
which  was  done  with  vigour,  and  now  the 
whole  region  of  Mexico  is  dotted  with  Bap- 
tist churches. 

Dr.  Simmons  was  always  looking  for  open 
doors  through  which  to  send  the  Gospel, 
and  he  did  not  hesitate  to  enter  Mexico  when 
he  found  an  open  door  there. 

Agency  Work 

The  Columbian  University  in  Washington, 
D.  C,  had  a  generous  offer  from  Mr.  W.  V. 
Corcoran,  of  property  valued  at  $200,000, 
provided  $100,000  additional  was  contributed 
to  the  University  in  two  years.  One  year 
and  a  half  had  already  elapsed  and  only 
about  $40,000  had  been  raised.  Dr.  Sim- 
mons was  induced  to  undertake  the  work  of 


His  Life  as  Secretary  89 

raising  $60,000  within  the  time  mentioned. 
It  was  like  leading  a  forlorn  hope  to  attempt 
it,  but  $300,000  for  the  University  depended 
upon  his  success.  Burdened  with  the  great 
responsibility,  but  looking  unto  God  for 
help,  Dr.  Simmons  threw  his  whole  soul 
and  body  into  the  work,  and  ere  the  six 
months  ended,  he  reported  $64,000,  and 
thus  secured  $300,000  to  the  Baptist  work 
of  Christian  education. 

The  Publication  Society 

After  a  pastorate  of  eight  and  one-half 
years  with  Trinity  Baptist  church.  New  York 
City,  Dr.  Simmons  was  elected  "  unanimously 
and  enthusiastically "  by  the  board  of  the 
American  Baptist  Publication  Society,  of 
Philadelphia,  field  secretary  for  the  State  of 
New  York.  The  officers  at  the  rooms  in 
Philadelphia,  from  time  to  time,  advised 
with  him  on  questions  of  importance,  and  he 
has  repeatedly  been  sent  to  other  sections  of 
the  country  to  adjust  delicate  and  difficult 
questions  involving  the  interests  of  the  So- 
ciety.    His  work  was  much  more  than  that 


90  A  Foundation  Builder 

of  a  district  secretary,  and  he  was  often 
employed  as  the  trusted  counsellor  and  re- 
sponsible representative  of  the  Society  in 
different  parts  of   its   field. 

As  soon  as  he  was  appointed,  Deacon 
Horace  Waters,  who  was  a  member  of 
Trinity  church  during  his  pastorate,  and 
the  pastor's  especial  friend,  said  to  him,  "  I 
have  left  in  my  will  $5,000  to  aid  in  carry- 
ing on  the  revision  of  the  New  Testament. 
You  may  say  to  your  board  that  I  will  pay 
over  that  money  immediately,  and  before 
my  death,  if  the  Society  will  undertake  the 
work."  Dr.  Simmons  placed  the  proposition 
before  the  Society,  and  it  was  accepted,  and 
he  was  largely  instrumental  in  raising  a 
fund  of  about  $20,000  for  revising  and  print- 
ing the  Bible.  The  revision  of  the  New 
Testament  was  done  by  Drs.  Broadus,  Hovey, 
and  Weston,  and  when  published  by  the 
Society,  was  pronounced  to  be  the  best  ver- 
sion of  the  many  which  have  been  pub- 
lished. 

Dr.  Simmons  persistently  pushed  the  work 
of  raising  contributions  for  the  Bible  work, 
the  mission  work,  and  the  Chapel  car  vv^ork 


JAMES  B.   SIMMOXS  AT   ~0 


His  Life  as  Secretary  91 

of  the  Society,  and  by  his  energy,  his  large 
experience,  his  wide  general  acquaintance, 
and  loving  spirit,  made  himself  invaluable 
to  the  great  Society  which  is  doing  so  much 
to  evangelize,  by  pen,  and  type,  and  tongue, 
the   teeming  millions   of   this   earth. 

A  pastor  wrote:  "Of  all  the  circular  let- 
ters that  come  to  me,  that  from  Dr.  Sim- 
mons is  the  best.  It  is  a  delight  to  read  it. 
I  said  to  my  wife,  '  This  is  a  model  letter.'  " 

Dr.  Simmons  was  welcome  to  every  pulpit, 
and  made  friends  for  the  Society  wherever 
he  went.  For  fourteen  years  he  held  this 
important  position,  and  the  Society  had  no 
more  able  and  efficient  representative  than  he. 

I  must  now  insert  a  chapter  from  my 
cherished  friend  and  brother.  Rev.  O.  C. 
Pope,  D.D.  He  was  for  ten  years  a  member 
of  the  Calvary  Baptist  church  here  in  New 
York,  and  as  his  pastor,  I  am  happy  to  bear 
testimony  to  his  great  worth.  He  is  a  skilful 
organizer,  an  enthusiastic  worker,  and  a  ma- 
jestic leader  of  enterprises  and  of  men.  The 
work  he  did  in  Texas  as  Superintendent  of 
Missions  there,  the  work  he  did  in  Mexico, 
and  the  still  greater  work  he  did  as  Super- 


92  A  Foundation  Builder 

intendent  of  the  Church  Edifice  Department 
of  the  American  Baptist  Home  Mission  So- 
ciety, speak  volumes  in  his  favour.  He  seems 
now  to  have  entered  upon  the  crowning  work 
of  his  life  as  President  of  Simmons  College, 
Albilene,  Tex. 


VI 

THE  FOUNDATION  BUILDER 

By  O.  C.  Pope,  D.D. 

WHEN  a  small  edifice  or  a  temporary 
structure  is  to  be  erected,  one  man 
frequently  plans,  erects,  completes, 
and  uses  the  building;  but  when  the  great 
cathedral  at  Cologne  was  finished,  the  man 
who  conceived  the  plan  and  laid  the  founda- 
tion, had  been  in  his  grave  for  more  than 
five  centuries.  The  glory  of  the  cathedral, 
however,  is  a  sufficient  monument  to  his 
memory.  For  a  large  structure,  there  must 
be  breadth  of  thought  and  work  in  the  foun- 
dation. Dr.  James  B.  Simmons,  of  New 
York,  is  peculiarly  gifted  in  the  ability  to 
plan  wisely,  and  lay  such  broad  foundations 
that  future  generations  may  successfully 
build  thereon. 

This  is  illustrated  in  his  work  in  behalf 

93 


94  A  Foundation  Builder 

of  Christian  education.  He  does  not  believe 
in  working  for  one  race,  or  one  caste,  or  one 
section,  but  has  distributed  his  labours  to 
different  races  and  different  sections  and 
made  them  so  broad  that  the  capstone  must, 
of  necessity,  be  laid  long  after  the  founder 
has  ceased  to  live  on  the  earth. 

Under  his  wise  administration  as  corre- 
sponding secretary  of  the  American  Baptist 
Home  Mission  Society,  locations  were  se- 
cured for  seven  Christian  schools  for  the 
negroes  of  the  South ;  one  each  in  Washing- 
ton, Richmond,  Columbia,  Raleigh,  Augusta, 
Nashville,  and  New  Orleans.  These  are 
well  chosen,  strategic  points,  every  one  of 
them.  Six  of  these  institutions,  on  the  very 
localities  purchased  by  Dr.  Simmons,  have 
had  marvellous  growth.  The  properties  to- 
day are  vastly  more  valuable  than  when  he 
acquired  them.  For  the  thirteen  acres  of 
the  Roger  Williams  University  at  Nashville, 
which  he  purchased  for  $30,000,  the  Home 
Mission  Society,  as  I  am  told,  could  since 
have  taken  $200,000,  had  they  been  willing 
to  sell. 

It  was   deemed   advisable   to   remove   the 


The  Foundation  Builder  95 

school  located  at  Augusta  to  Atlanta,  and 
it  is  doing  a  magnificent  work  there.  Dr.  A. 
E.  Dickinson,  editor  of  the  Religious  Herald, 
of  Richmond,  Va.,  well  said: 

"  Those  seven  institutions  of  learning  for 
the  coloured  people  of  the  South,  which  Dr. 
J.  B.  Simmons  was  instrumental  in  estab- 
lishing, will  be  a  better  monument  to  his 
memory,  than  seven  towering  shafts  of 
granite." 

Seven  streams  of  light  and  knowledge  for 
over  a  quarter  of  a  century  have  been  flood- 
ing the  South  with  blessings  from  these 
young  colleges.  And  these  streams  have 
been  broadening  and  deepening  as  the  years 
roll  on,  and  will  doubtless  continue  to  bless 
generations  yet  unborn.  These  schools  were 
not  founded  for  a  day,  a  year,  or  a  generation, 
but  for  all  time. 

Here  we  have  the  example  of  a  man  who 
was  the  grandson  of  a  New  York  State 
slave-holder,  devoting  seven  years  of  the  most 
intense  toil,  anxiety,  and  labour,  to  the 
Christian  education  of  those  who  had  been 
slaves,  and  succeeding  in  establishing  seven 


96  A  Foundation  Builder 

institutions  of  learning,  and  raising  money  to 
secure  properties  ample  for  their  uses  in  the 
long  years  to  come.  The  foundations  were 
well  laid,  not  on  the  sands  of  popular  enthusi- 
asm or  partisan  prejudices,  but  on  the  firm 
rock  of  Christian  duty,  in  loyalty  to  Jesus 
Christ. 

Rev.  H.  M.  Tupper,  D.D.,  President  of 
Shaw  University  at  Raleigh,  N.  C,  used  to 
say  that  Dr.  Simmons  had  the  best  concep- 
tion of  any  man  he  knew,  as  to  the  sort  of 
schools  needed  for  the  education  of  the 
Freedmen.  And  it  is  not  too  much  to  add 
that  the  seven  original  Freedmen  colleges 
which  were  fashioned  under  his  moulding 
hand,  became  in  no  small  degree  the  models 
for  those  that  have  been  added  since.  At 
the  same  time,  he  praises  in  emphatic  terms 
the  good  men  who  preceded  him,  as  well 
as  the  men  who  have  followed  him  in  the 
work. 

When  Dr.  Simmons  retired  from  his  office 
as  corresponding  secretary  of  the  American 
Baptist  Home  Mission  Society,  that  organi- 
zation, in  annual  meeting  assembled,  adopted 
the  following  minute: 


The  Foundation  Builder  97 

"  The  present  condition  of  our  educational 
work  in  the  Southern  States  bears  a  most 
impressive  testimony  to  the  wisdom,  the 
energy,  and  the  consecration  exhibited  by 
Rev.  James  Simmons,  D.D.,  in  the  location, 
and  the  conduct  of  the  Freedmen's  schools, 
and  in  the  development  of  Christian  enter- 
prise and  liberality  in  their  behalf.  He  has 
written  his  name  upon  the  religious  history 
of  an  emancipated  race.  Their  future  will 
be  his  monument." 

But  Dr.  Simmons  was  too  broad  a  man  to 
confine  his  work  to  one  race.  He  saw  the 
need  of  the  coloured  people  and  gave  his 
heart  throbs,  tears,  and  prayers,  accompanied 
in  every  instance  by  his  own  money  contri- 
butions, to  help  them.  But  many  years  be- 
fore this,  he  had  laid  his  vigorous  hand  to 
the  work  of  helping  the  cause  of  education 
among  the  white  race.  As  early  as  1859, 
nearly  a  decade  before  he  was  called  to  be 
secretary  of  home  missions,  and  when  he 
was  not  worth  so  much  as  $1,500  all  told,  he 
pledged  $1,000  of  that  amount,  to  assist  in 
founding  an  institution  for  the  higher  edu- 
cation of  young  women,  in  Indianapolis, 
Ind.,  where  he  was  settled  as  pastor.     And 


98  A  Foundation  Builder 

he  paid  every  cent  of  that  money.  The  com- 
ing on  of  the  war,  and  other  causes,  led 
to  the  discontinuance  of  the  school;  and  this 
thousand  dollars,  with  the  other  property  of 
the  institute,  was  afterwards  turned  over  to 
the  Divinity  School  at  Morgan  Park,  which 
is  now  a  part  of  the  great  Chicago  Uni- 
versity, and  is  still  doing  good  in  the  cause 
of  Christian  education. 

In  1874,  when  there  was  a  crisis  in  the 
financial  affairs  of  Columbian  University, 
located  at  the  national  Capital,  he  threw  him- 
self into  the  breach  at  the  call  of  his  brethren, 
and  raised  in  six  months  $64,000,  to  complete 
the  required  conditions  for  an  endowment  of 
$300,000;  thus  establishing  the  permanency 
of  that  institution  for  Christian  education  in 
the  heart  of  the  nation. 

In  1 891  the  writer  of  this,  from  his  official 
position,  chanced  to  know  that  Dr.  Simmons 
was  not  content  with  what  he  had  done  for 
the  cause  of  Christian  education,  but  was 
looking  around  for  further  opportunity  to  do 
good.  About  this  time  I  received  a  letter 
from  a  gentleman  of  Abilene,  Tex.,  asking  if 
I  knew  of  any  source  from  which  help  could 


The  Foundation  Builder  99 

be  obtained  in  founding  a  much  needed 
institution  of  learning  in  that  rapidly  grow- 
ing section  of  Western  Texas.  I  gave  him 
the  address  of  Dr.  Simmons,  and  corre- 
spondence was  begun  between  them.  Dr. 
Simmons  and  his  son  visited  the  field,  and 
the  result  was  that  through  the  benefactions 
of  himself  and  family,  Simmons  College,  at 
Abilene,  Tex.,  has  begun  its  career  of  bless- 
ing in  the  great  Southwest.  Located  in  a 
fertile  country,  with  a  field  to  draw  from 
twice  as  large  as  the  entire  state  of  New 
York,  and  which  is  rapidly  filling  up  with 
population,  it  is  difficult  to  estimate  the 
future  possibilities  of  Simmons  College.  As 
to  a  name  for  this  new  school,  Dr.  Simmons 
chose  ''  Christlieb  College,"  which  means  the 
''  College  of  Christ's  Love."  But  his  family, 
and  the  vote  of  the  college  trustees,  over- 
ruled him. 

A  Northern  man,  a  strong  opponent  of 
slavery,  and  one  who  had  given  so  much 
of  his  time  to  aid  the  negroes  in  education, 
Dr.  Simmons  now  gave  his  means  to  found 
a  college  for  white  people,  in  one  of  the  old 
slave  states.     He  has  helped  ten  colleges,  all 


lOO  A  Foundation  Builder 

told.  With  him  the  question  was  not  whether 
a  man  is  a  white  man,  a  negro,  an  Indian,  an 
American,  or  a  Chinaman;  not  whether  he 
was  a  Northern  man,  a  Southern  man,  or 
a  Western  man,  but  was  he  a  man,  and 
was  help  needed,  and  could  it  be  given? 
The  foundations  he  has  endeavoured  to  lay 
are  as  broad  as  the  needs  of  humanity, 
without  reference  to  race  or  conditions. 
Strong  in  his  convictions  and  outspoken 
in  his  expression  of  them  when  necessity 
requires,  he  is  the  soul  of  courtesy  to  all, 
and  charitable  towards  the  opinions  of 
others.  He  always  leans  towards  mercy's 
side. 

The  following  incident  beautifully  illus- 
trates this  characteristic:  Rev.  John  S.  Ezell, 
a  Baptist  minister  of  South  Carolina,  was 
confined  in  the  military  prison  at  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  having  been  convicted  of  complicity 
with  Kukluxism  in  his  native  state.  Southern 
papers  were  denouncing  his  confinement. 
But  Dr.  Simmons,  instead  of  stopping  to 
talk,  went  to  Albany,  visited  the  imprisoned 
minister,  encouraged  him  to  tell  his  story, 
went  to  Washington  and  personally  laid  the 


The  Foundation  Builder  loi 

matter  before  General  Grant,  then  President 
of  the  United  States,  and  obtained  his  release. 
He  then  took  Mr.  Ezell  to  his  home  and 
treated  him  with  Christian  hospitality,  and 
sent  him  on  his  way  rejoicing.  Dr.  Sim- 
mons did  not  sympathize  in  the  least  with 
the  spirit  of  Kukluxism,  or  any  other  law- 
lessness, but  he  delighted  to  assist  a  Christian 
man  in  distress.  No  wonder  that  Mr.  Ezell 
has  often  written  him  with  gratitude,  saying: 
"  I  was  in  prison  and  you  visited  me."  Or 
that  Rev.  J.  L.  Reynolds,  D.D.,  of  South 
Carolina,  referring  to  this,  says:  *' This  was 
well  and  nobly  done.  Such  a  deed  appeals  to 
the  South,  and  will  do  more  towards  bring- 
ing about  the  era  of  good  feeling,  than  all 
the  resolutions  that  could  be  written,  or 
harangues  that  could  be  spoken.  We  thank 
Dr.  Simmons." 

I  have  spent  months  in  Dr.  Simmons's 
company.  We  differed  widely  upon  many 
questions,  and  discussed  them  freely  with- 
out the  slightest  acrimony  or  ill-feeling. 
Tenacious  of  his  own  opinions,  and  firm  in 
his  convictions,  he  is  yet  so  broad  and  full  of 
Christian  love  and  courtesy,   that  he  is  the 


I02  A  Foundation  Builder 

finest   example   I    have   ever  known   of    the 
"  suauiter  in  modo  et  fortiter  in  re." 

We  may  learn  three  lessons  from  his"  life: 
I  A  poor  boy,  thrown  upon  his  own  re- 
sources at  fifteen  years  of  age,  he  has  at- 
tained great  distinction  as  a  man  of  learn- 
ing and  wide  influence.  Let  no  boy  despair 
of  making  a  full-grown  man  because  he  is 
poor. 

2.  He  has  often  told  me  that  he  never 
could  have  accomplished  half  of  what  he 
has,  but  for  the  educational  training  which 
he  received.  He  spent  three  years  in  the 
preparatory  school,  four  years  in  college, 
and  three  years  in  his  theological  course,  ten 
years  in  all.  Let  no  young  man  rush  into 
his  life  work  without  thorough  preparation. 
Rather  than  work  with  dull  tools,  make  any 
sacrifice  to  sharpen  them. 

3.  Dr.  Simmons  has  a  loving  place  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people  of  all  sections  and  of 
the  different  races  of  the  country,  because 
he  loved  them  all.  Let  no  man  despair  of 
being  esteemed  and  loved  just  as  broadly 
as  he  esteems  and  loves  others.  I  am  proud 
to  number  Dr.  James  B.  Simmons  among  my 


The  Foundation  Builder  103 

warmest  friends,  on  account  of  his  great 
learning,  his  true  heart,  and  his  broad 
Christian   charity. 

The  College  which  bears  his  name  stands 
as  an  outpost  of  Christian  education  in  the 
West.  It  is  1,600  miles  westward  from 
Abilene  to  the  nearest  Christian  College. 
Although  a  young  institution  in  a  sparsely 
settled  section,  it  has  property  of  about 
$50,000  value,  and  not  a  cent  of  debt.  What 
is  most  needed  now  to  put  a  capstone  on 
the  last  college  brought  into  existence  by 
''  The  Foundation  Builder "  is  an  endow- 
ment. The  small  beginning  of  $15,000 
which  the  college  has,  should  be  made 
$100,000  soon  by  the  friends  of  Christian 
education. 


VII 

HIS  CONNECTION  WITH  SIMMONS 
COLLEGE 

IN    1890   the   Baptist  church   at  Abilene 
appointed    a    committee    to    propose    to 
the  Sweetwater  Association  that  an  ef- 
fort be  made  to  establish   a  college  within 
its  bounds. 

The  Association  received  the  proposition 
favourably,  and  appointed  a  committee  with 
plenary  powers,  to  receive  bids  from  all 
points  desiring  the  school,  to  accept  the  best 
bid,  procure  a  charter,  and  to  report  to  the 
next  meeting  of  the  Association.  The  terri- 
tory included  in  the  Association  was  about 
400  miles  long,  and  100  wide,  with  an  area 
of  about  40,000  square  miles,  and  there  was 
not  a  Baptist  school  within  its  limits,  and 
none  to  the  west  of  it  for  1,600  miles,  nor 
to  the  east,  north,  or  south  nearer  than  400 

miles.    The  population  was  rapidly  increas- 

104 


His  Connection  with  Simmons  College    105 


ing,  and  there  was  great  need  for  a  school  in 
the  elevated  region,  known  as  the  "  Abilene 
Country,"  as  many  did  not  consider  it  safe 
in  point  of  health  to  send  children  from  an 


m 


\.< 


O/d  Main  Building,  Simmons  College 

altitude  of  from  1,500  to  3,000  feet  above 
the  sea,  to  the  low  altitude  where  schools 
in  the  east  were  located.  Bids  were  re- 
ceived from  several  towns,  but  Abilene, 
through   a  syndicate  which  owned  what  is 


io6  A  Foundation  Builder 

called  the  North  Park  Addition,  offered 
sixteen  acres  of  land  and  $5,000  if  the  school 
should  be  located  there.  The  offer  was  ac- 
cepted, and  the  building  begun.  It  was  in 
an  unfinished  condition,  when  Rev.  G.  W. 
Smith  wrote  to  Dr.  O.  C.  Pope,  then  living 
in  New  York,  and  superintendent  of  the 
Church  Edifice  Department  of  the  American 
Baptist  Home  Mission  Society,  to  obtain 
help,  if  possible,  in  New  York,  for  the  enter- 
prise. Dr.  Pope  was  well  acquainted  with 
Dr.  Simmons,  and  knew  that  while  he  had 
worked  so  vigorously  to  establish  seven  col- 
leges for  freedmen  in  the  South,  that  he 
was  equally  willing  to  aid  in  establishing  a 
college  for  white  people  where  one  was 
needed.  Dr.  Pope  handed  him  Rev.  G.  W. 
Smith's  letter,  and  gave  him  some  informa- 
tion concerning  Abilene  and  the  country 
surrounding  it.  Dr.  Simmons  said,  "  Tell 
Brother  Smith  to  write  to  me  concerning 
the  enterprise."  This  was  done,  and  a  cor- 
respondence followed  which  resulted  in 
awakening  great  interest  in  Dr.  Simmons 
for  the  baby  college  to  be  located  in  such  a 
magnificent  section  of  country. 


His  Connection  with  Simmons  College    107 

Dr.  Simmons  sent  his  check  for  $5,000  to 
complete  the  house,  and  a  splendid  brick 
building,  three  stories  high,  and  costing 
$13,000,  was  finished  and  ready  for 
occupancy. 

About  this  time  Dr.  Simmons  had  occa- 
sion to  go  to  New  Orleans  on  business,  and 
extended  his  visit  about  600  miles  further 
to  Abilene,  carrying  with  him  a  check  for 
$1,000,  which  he  expected  to  give  if  the 
prospects  were  hopeful.  He  was  pleased, 
and  handed  the  trustees  the  check  for  $1,000, 
greatly  encouraging  them  in  the  work.  The 
trustees  proposed  to  call  the  college  by  his 
name;  while  he  suggested  that  it  be  called 
Christlieb  College,  or  the  "  College  of 
Christ's  Love,"  as  he  stated  that  he  would 
not  have  anything  to  do  with  the  institution 
unless  it  was  to  be  distinctly  a  Christian 
school.  The  trustees  insisted  upon  their  idea, 
and  in  the  fall  of  1892  the  school  was 
opened,  bearing  the  name  of  Simmons  Col- 
lege, in  memory  of  Dr.  Simmons,  his  wife, 
Mrs.  Mary  E.  Simmons,  and  his  son,  Dr. 
Robert  S.  Simmons,  all  of  whom  had  con- 
tributed liberally  to  it. 


io8  A  Foundation  Builder 

Rev.  W.  C.  Friley  was  the  first  president, 
and  he  carried  on  the  school  for  two  years, 
during  which  period  Dr.  Simmons  was  its 
staunch  friend,  contributing  money;  getting 
others  to  do  the  same;  sending  books  as  the 
nucleus  of  a  library,  and  using  his  influence 
with  such  friends  of  his  as  Dr.  Warren  Ran- 
dolph, Dr.  George  C.  Lorimer,  Dr.  Board- 
man,  Hon.  John  S.  Brayton,  Hon.  John 
Wanamaker,  Governor  J.  L.  Howard,  Dr. 
Thomas  Armitage,  Dr.  E.  T.  Hiscox,  Dr. 
R.  S.  MacArthur,  and  many  others,  to  in- 
duce them  to  send  books  for  the  library, 
until  now  the  college  has  more  than  3,000 
volumes   in   the   library. 

Professor  G.  O.  Thatcher,  Ph.D.,  was  next 
made  president,  serving  for  four  years,  dur- 
ing which  time  the  school  increased  in  num- 
bers; but  times  were  hard,  and  it  was  found 
to  be  difficult  to  meet  the  salaries  of  teachers 
by  means  of  the  income  from  tuition,  and 
Professor  Thatcher  resigned,  somewhat  dis- 
couraged, and  many  friends  of  the  school 
felt  that  its  future  was  uncertain.  Dr.  Sim- 
mons's  faith  never  faltered,  however,  for  he 
gave,  right    along,    until    he   had   put   more 


His  Connection  with  Simmons  College    109 

than  $12,000  into  the  enterprise.  His  cousin, 
Mrs.  Julia  E.  Nye,  gave  about  $1,500;  and 
another  friend  of  his,  whose  name  he  will 
not  suffer  mentioned  at  this  time,  put  in  more 
than  $1,000. 

Dr.  Simmons  again  made  a  visit  to  Abi- 
lene to  look  over  the  field;  met  the  board  of 
trustees,  and  encouraged  them;  advised  them 
to  elect  Dr.  O.  C.  Pope  president;  tele- 
graphed to  Dr.  Pope  to  meet  him  in  Atlanta, 
and  urged  him  to  accept  the  presidency  to 
which  he  had  been  unanimously  elected 
through  his  advice;  and  when  Dr.  Pope  hesi- 
tated, he  paid  out  of  his  own  pocket  his 
expenses  to  Texas,  that  he  might  advise  with 
the  trustees.  Dr.  Pope  accepted  the  position 
and  took  hold  to  improve  the  college.  Mrs. 
Nye  came  to  the  rescue  with  money  to  fit 
up  the  library  and  reading-room;  Dr.  Robert 
S.  Simmons  sent  a  splendid  typewriter  and 
hundreds  of  most  valuable  books  for  the 
library,  in  the  name  of  his  daughter,  Sarah 
Ann  Simmons.  The  new  president  raised 
in  Texas  a  goodly  sum  of  money,  and  the 
Boarding  Hall  was  improved;  the  college 
building  properly  renovated;  a  good  faculty 


no  A  Foundation  Builder 

secured,  and  the  college  put  upon  a  better 
basis  than  it  had  been  previously. 

Dr.  Simmons  realized  the  great  impor- 
tance of  the  field  which  the  college  occupied. 
The  high,  healthful  section  of  the  country, 
the  fertility  of  the  soil,  a  rapidly  increasing 
population  of  live,  progressive  people  from 
every  section  of  the  Union,  a  country,  on 
account  of  its  dry,  pure  atmosphere,  bound 
to  become  the  great  sanitarium  of  the  United 
States;  all  convinced  him  that  it  w^as  the 
very  place  for  a  Christian  school  of  a  high 
order,  and,  with  his  influence,  his  money,  and 
his  prayers,  he  continued  to  be  its  unwaver- 
ing friend. 

The  following  illustrates  the  place  which 
Dr.  Simmons  will  hold  in  West  Texas,  when, 
in  future  years,  that  section  shall  have  a 
million  of  inhabitants: 

A  visitor  to  Winchester  School,  England, 
asked  a  labourer,  "  Who  was  the  founder  of 
this  school?"  "William  of  Wykeham,  sir," 
said  the  man  promptly.  "  Who  was  king 
at  that  time?"  was  the  next  enquiry.  "I 
never  heard  'is  name,  sir."  Thus,  after  five 
centuries,    the   memory   of    a   man   who    es- 


His  Connection  with  Simmons  College    1 1 1 

tablished  a  great  school  is  cherished  among 
the  common  people.  The  mere  monarch  is 
forgotten. 

Dr.  J.  B.  Gambrell,  at  one  time  president 
of  the  Baptist  Education  Society  for  the 
whole  United  States,  wrote  Dr.  Simmons:  "  I 
believe  your  benefaction  to  that  people  will 
do  500  per  cent,  more  good  than  the  same 
amount  of  money  put  in  some  great,  already 
rich  institution.  I  congratulate  Simmons 
College  on  its  large  gains  recently.  You 
are  building  for  all  time,  and  building 
wisely." 

Again  Dr.  Gambrell  says:  ''I  take  great 
pleasure  in  stating  that  I  have  made  several 
visits  to  Simmons  College,  located  at  Abilene, 
Tex.  Under  the  management  of  Dr.  O.  C. 
Pope  it  has  made  good  progress.  Great  im- 
provements in  the  buildings  and  grounds  are 
noticeable.  Simmons  College  is  well  located 
to  reach  the  great  West,  and  is  bound,  with 
time,  to  exercise  a  large  influence  in  shap- 
ing the  sentiment  of  that  great  section  of 
Texas." 

Rev.  W.  C.  Friley  says:  "Simmons  Col- 
lege is  the  coming  school  of  West  and  North- 


112  A  Foundation  Builder 

west  Texas.  If  you  wish  to  send  your  sons 
and  daughters  to  a  healthy  country,  and 
have  them  reap  the  benefit  to  be  derived 
from  a  first-class  school,  you  will  do  well 
to  write  to  the  President." 

The  following  clipping  from  the  West 
Texas  Baptist,  shows  the  appreciation  of  the 
school  in  Texas: 

*'  Some  years  ago,  an  eminent  Doctor  of 
Divinity  (who  was  once  superintendent  of 
missions  in  Texas),  and  who  has  a  national 
reputation,  wrote  to  the  editor  of  this  paper 
upon  landing  in  San  Francisco  after  a  trip 
around  the  world,  as  follows: 

"  '  Taking  all  things  into  consideration,  the 
founding  of  Simmons  College  at  Abilene  is 
the  most  important  step  ever  taken  for 
Christian  education  in  all  the  great  South- 
west.' 

''  We  thought,  at  the  time,  he  was  stating 
the  matter  rather  strongly.  But,  as  the  years 
go  by,  and  we  see  more  and  more  the  hand 
of  God,  in  the  unfolding  of  his  purposes 
concerning  this  school  which  he  established 
in  answer  to  prayer,  the  more  we  come  to 
take  the  Doctor's  view  of  it.  Its  solid  basis; 
its  broad  field;  and,  above  all,  the  manifest 
fact  that  it  is  a  tree  of  God's  own  planting 


His  Connection  with  Simmons  College    113 

and  culture,  commend  it  to  the  confidence  of 
all  who  have  money  to  give  to  higher  Chris- 
tion  education." 

Dr.  Simmons's  idea  as  to  what  is  the  cor- 
rect purpose  of  a  college  is  clearly  set  forth 
in  a  letter  to  Rev.  R.  T.  Hanks,  then  pastor 
of  the  church  at  Abilene,  from  which  we 
make  the  following  extracts: 

"  How  great  the  need  of  scholarly  men  to 
translate  God's  Word  into  all  those  2,700 
languages,  and  of  missionaries  too,  to  carry 
that  word  to  the  millions  of  the  lost  race  I 
Impress  this  upon  your  audience,  I  beg  of 
you,  till  their  hearts  ache.  Show  particu- 
larly to  your  men  of  wealth,  both  in  public 
speech  and  private  conversation,  that  this 
is  what  colleges  are  for,  and  that  this  is  why 
money  is  needed  to  build  and  endow  colleges. 
All  of  our  colleges  and  seminaries  spring 
out  of,  and  are  required  by  the  great  Com- 
mission. In  no  other  way  can  we  give  this 
gospel  to  every  creature  except  by  means  of 
learned  men  as  translators  and  expounders, 
and  at  least  by  well-equipped  men  as 
preachers  to  those  millions  of  our  race  who 
speak  other  tongues  and  dwell  under  other 
skies  than  ours.  Just  in  proportion  as  you 
make  men  of  wealth  see  this,  just  in  that  pro- 


114  A  Foundation  Builder 

portion  will  you  get  money  from  them  to 
build  and  endow  schools.  Do  not  let  them 
feel  that  a  Christian  college  is  a  burden,  any 
more  than  the  church  is  a  burden,  or  the 
Bible  school,  or  the  Bible  Society,  or  the 
Bible  itself.  All  are  blessings;  all  are  easy 
and  light.  Jesus  says  so.  '  My  yoke  is  easy 
and  my  burden  is  light.' 

"  The  great  commission,  Matthew  28,  re- 
quires Christians  to  tread  every  line  of  lati- 
tude and  every  line  of  longitude  over  this 
vast  earth,  and  to  preach  the  gospel  at  the 
crossing  of  all  these  lines  if  only  one  human 
being  is  found  to  dwell  there.  And  as  there 
are  three  generations  in  each  century  vv^e 
must  cover  the  globe  three  times  over  with 
our  preaching  and  teaching  every  hundred 
years  in  carrying  the  gospel  into  all  the 
world— to  every  creature.  This  will  keep 
us  so  busy  that  we  need  not  stop  over  dif- 
ferences  of  trifiing  importance. 

"  That  is  what  the  college  is  for,  to  raise 
up  foreign  missionaries  as  well  as  home  mis- 
sionaries. The  greater  includes  the  less.  For- 
eign missions  is  the  greater,  and  for  every 
foreign  missionary  that  you  train  and  send 
out  from  the  College  at  Abilene,  God  will 
give  to  you  through  this  College  ten  home 
missionaries.  Try  it  and  see.  Talk  it  up, 
pray  for  it,  and  work  for  it. 


His  Connection  with  Simmons  College    115 

"  Do  you  know  the  argument  I  am  using 
in  my  letters  to  my  foreign  mission  brethren, 
to  induce  them  to  keep  on  praying  at  the 
waking  hour  for  '  Christlieb  College,'  is  that 
from  its  walls  we  hope  to  send  to  India,  to 
China,  and  to  Japan,  their  successors  in  the 
work?  That  when  they  fall,  our  graduates 
from  Abilene  shall  be  ready  to  seize  their 
wavering  standard,  and  bear  it  on  to  victory. 
In  India  I  have  a  schoolmate  and  playmate 
of  my  boyhood,  working  as  a  missionary; 
in  China,  a  member  of  my  church  in  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.;  in  Japan,  a  convert  whom  I 
baptized  in  Philadelphia;  all  brethren  be- 
loved; all  noble  missionaries  of  the  Cross. 
All  know  about  '  Christlieb.'  And  all  are 
praying  for  it. 

"  To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  have  no  use  for 
Christlieb  College  if  it  isn't  '  the  College  of 
Christ's  Love '  all  round  the  world.  I  want 
it  to  send  missionaries  all  round  the  world, 
not  only  to  aim  for  that,  but  to  do  that. 
'  North  America  for  Christ '  was  my  favourite 
motto.  I  originated  that  motto  and  gave  it 
to  the  American  Baptist  Home  Mission  So- 
ciety when  I  was  its  secretary.  By  common 
consent  it  was  adopted.  And  for  many  years 
it  has  gone  forth  on  their  letter  heads,  their 
reports,  and  their  monthly  magazine.  But 
that  motto,  popular  as  it  is,  is  only  fractional 


ii6  A  Foundation  Builder 

after  all.  This  whole  round  Globe  for 
Christ,  is  the  least  we  ought  to  think  or  say. 
And  for  that  we  should  work,  and  sacrifice, 
and  pray  '  till  Jesus  comes.' 

"  I  hope  soon  to  send  twenty  copies  of 
the  '  Life  of  Mary  Lyon.'  I  want  it  to  be 
read  by  all  the  faculty  and  trustees,  in  all 
their  families,  and  in  all  the  families  of  your 
church,  so  far  as  is  possible.  I  am  sure  that 
scores  of  others  in  and  about  Abilene,  will 
find  that  little  volume  to  be  meat  and  drink 
to  their  souls.  Some  of  you  no  doubt  have 
read  it.  But  go  over  it  again.  And  you, 
Brother  Hanks,  go  up  to  the  College,  give 
the  substance  of  the  book  in  the  form  of  a 
lecture,  or  address,  and  then  exhort  all  the 
students,  male  as  well  as  female,  to  read  it 
prayerfully  through.  In  The  Mt.  Holyoke 
Magazine,  which  I  shall  send  too  (twenty 
of  them),  you  will  find  how  Mary  Lyon 
used  to  collect  money  in  sums  as  small  as  ten 
cents  for  her  beloved  school.  That's  right. 
It  was  a  missionary  school.  So  is  '  Christ- 
lieb.'  And  taking  collections  in  small  sums, 
in  churches,  and  from  house  to  house,  to 
keep  the  College  going,  is  just  as  really  mis- 
sionary as  is  preaching  to  the  heathen  by 
the  students  of  the  College  after  they  have 
graduated  and  gone  to  their  fields  in  Asia 
or  Africa." 


SARAH    ANNA    SIMMONS,    DAUGHTER    OF    ROBERT    S. 
SIMMONS,  AT   8   YEARS   OF   AGE 


His  Connection  with  Simmons  College    117 

From  the  West  Texas  Baptist^  we  take  the 
following: 

''  It  is  known  to  some  that  Dr.  J.  B.  Sim- 
mons wished  the  College  to  be  named  Christ- 
lieb,  which  German  word  means  Christ's 
love.  But  his  wife  and  son,  who  have  con- 
tributed liberally  out  of  their  own  property 
to  the  funds,  insisted  upon  making  the  school 
a  monument  to  the  educational  labours  of 
the  husband  and  father.  He  had  helped  to 
establish  nine  other  colleges,  North  and 
South.  It  did  seem  fitting  that  the  tenth, 
this  one  at  Abilene,  should  bear  his  name. 
He  replied:  'Then  it  must  be  understood 
to  be  the  family  name,  for  all  three  of  the 
family  are  generous  contributors.'  All  are 
agreed  that  it  shall  be  Christlieb  in  spirit, 
the  College  of  Christ's  Love.  Never  forget 
that!  The  first  move  in  establishing  this 
school  was  made  by  the  First  Baptist  church 
at  Abilene.  And  that  is  a  Christian  body. 
The  Sweetwater  Association  next  took  hold, 
and  that  is  a  Christian  body.  All  the  trus- 
tees of  the  College  are  Christian  men.  Dr. 
Simmons  and  his  family  are  Christian;  and 
they  made  special  written  conditions  in  giving 
their  money,  that  the  whole  structure,  char- 
acter, and  fibre  of  the  College  were  first,  sec- 
ond, and  last,  to  be  Christian." 


ii8  A  Foundation  Builder 

Professor  G.  O.  Thatcher,  formerly  presi- 
dent of  the  College,  has  this  to  say: 

"  At  this  time,  our  heart  is  full  of  gladness 
and  thankfulness  for  what  has  already  been 
done  for  Simmons  College.  We  are  filled 
with  gratitude  to  him,  who  ruleth  all  things; 
for  the  wisdom  of  its  founders  in  establishing 
this  school  for  Christian  education  here, 
in  this  western  country,  where  its  present 
field  of  labour  and  of  usefulness  is  so  large, 
and  the  possibilities  of  development  so  un- 
bounded. We  are  thankful  for  the  many 
friends  the  College  has  in  Texas  and  else- 
where, and  that  our  appeals  to  them  on 
behalf  of  the  College  are  not  for  relief  from 
a  burdensome  debt,  but  for  the  means  of 
enlargement  and  advancement." 

The  notice  of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Mary  E. 
Simmons,  which  occurred  September  24, 
1894,  fell  like  a  great  sorrow  upon  the 
friends,  faculty,  and  students  of  Simmons 
College.  The  members  of  the  Literary  So- 
ciety were  called  together,  and  a  committee 
appointed  to  draft  suitable  resolutions  of 
respect  to  her  memory.  The  following  were 
presented,  and,  with  sorrowful  hearts, 
adopted: 


His  Connection  with  Simmons  College    119 

"  Whereas,  The  Wise  Ruler  of  the  Uni- 
verse has  seen  fit  in  his  wisdom  to  call  from 
earth  the  soul  of  this  friend,  who,  during  a 
long  life  devoted  to  his  service,  ever  at- 
tracted the  attention  and  commanded  the 
respect  of  those  who  knew  her,  Therefore 
be  it 

"  Resolved,  I,  That  we,  the  members  of 
the  Adelphian  Society  of  Simmons  College, 
deplore  the  loss  of  our  late  benefactress, 
Mrs.  Mary  E.  Simmons,  and  bow  with 
reverence  to  the  will  of  Almighty  God  who 
doeth  all  things  well. 

"  Resolved,  II,  That  in  her  death  Sim- 
mons College  has  lost  a  true  and  valued 
friend,  one  who  responded  liberally  and 
nobly  to  all  the  calls  of  education.  She  was 
blessed  with  a  kind,  charitable  heart,  and 
a  warm  interest  in  all  that  tends  to  uplift 
humanity.  In  these  personal  characteristics 
we  recognize  a  lofty  type  of  Christian 
womanhood. 

"  Resolved,  III,  That  we  tender  the  be- 
reaved family  our  sincere  and  heartfelt 
sympathy  in  this  great  affliction.  While 
theirs'  is  the  greater  loss,  may  it  console  them 
to  know  that  other  hearts  share  in  their 
sorrow  and  bereavement. 

^'  Resolved,  IV,  That  these  resolutions  be 
published  in  the  West  Texas  Baptist  and  also 


I20  A  Foundation  Builder 

in  the  College  Items.  That  a  page  of  our 
record  book  be  preserved  as  a  memorial  of 
her,  and  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Adelphian 
Society  be  instructed  to  present  the  family 
a  copy  of  these  resolutions. 

"  Gertrude  Swanson, 

"  Flossie  Logan^ 

**  Evie  M alone. 

Committee." 

The  name  of  the  Literary  Society  was 
afterward  changed  to  the  Mary  E.  Simmons 
Society,  and  still  bears  that  name. 

The  board  of  trustees  and  faculty  arranged 
to  hold  in  the  College  chapel  a  memorial 
service  on  November  23,  1894,  and  a  large 
audience,  consisting  of  the  citizens  of  Abi- 
lene and  the  surrounding  country,  assembled. 
President  G.  O.  Thatcher  presided.  Rev. 
G.  W.  Smith  read  the  Scriptures,  and  led 
in  prayer.  Addresses  were  made  by  different 
citizens. 

Rev.  R.  T.  Hanks  spoke  of  the  beautiful 
and  consecrated  life  of  Mrs.  Simmons,  her 
helpfulness,  her  love  for  her  race,  and  her 
consummate  desire  to  do  good  in  many  di- 
rections; and  appealed  to  the  young-  women 


His  Connection  with  Simmons  College    121 

of  Simmons  College  to  imitate  her  noble 
life. 

Dr.  J.  T.  Harrington  spoke  of  the  breadth 
of  her  Christian  character  and  love  as  shown 
in  giving  her  hard-earned  means,  not  only 
to  a  state  she  had  never  visited,  to  a  people 
she  had  never  known ;  but,  more  wonderful, 
to  a  people  separated  from  her  by  all  the 
necessary  prejudices  that  would  naturally 
follow  so  long  and  bloody  a  civil  war  as 
that  through  which  her  generation  passed. 
And  he  thought  her  good  influence  in  the 
direction  of  breadth  of  character  and  dis- 
interested love  would  be  felt  long  after  all 
present  were  dead. 

Judge  K.  K.  Leggett  paid  the  following 
beautiful  tribute  to  her  memory: 

"  The  subject  for  whom  these  exercises 
are  held,  we  are  informed,  died  in  the 
Christian  faith,  and  doubtless  her  chair,  her 
pew,  and  her  grave  were  garlanded  with  the 
flowers  of  the  Christian's  hope,  and  added 
to  this,  she  had  lived  so  as  to  cause  this 
people,  two  thousand  miles  away,  to  halt, 
and  drop  a  tear,  as  she  passed  from  earth 
to  heaven. 

"  This  community   is  largely  indebted   to 


122  A  Foundation  Builder 

Mrs.  Mary  E.  Simmons,  in  fact  it  is  indebted 
to  her  more  than  to  any  other  person,  either 
living  or  dead.  I  would  not  withhold  one 
word  of  praise  due  that  great  and  good  man, 
whose  name  this  College  bears,  and  due  his 
unselfish  and  pious  son,  but  I  do  not  doubt 
that  Simmons  College,  with  all  it  is,  and  all 
it  will  be  in  coming  years,  owes  its  very 
existence  to  that  beautiful  character,  Mary 
E.  Simmons. 

"  It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  no  one 
present  had  the  pleasure  and  benefit  of  a 
personal  acquaintance  with  Mrs.  Simmons. 

"  We  only  know  her  by  what  she  has  done. 

''  I  very  much  fear  when  I  have  finished 
my  labours,  and  have  passed  to  the  great 
beyond,  it  will  simply  be  said  of  me,  '  He 
was  born;  he  died.'  This  really  is  the  his- 
tory of  man.  Not  so  with  Mrs.  Simmons. 
Besides  contributing  a  share  to  the  gentle 
and  engaging  graces  which  make  life  worth 
living,  she,  aided  by  the  members  of  her 
family,  has  left  this  monument  of  usefulness 
to  bless  the  coming  ages.  Each  and  every 
student  who  attends  this  school  is  a  bene- 
ficiary of  her  bounty." 

Professor  G.  O.  Thatcher,  who  felt  that  her 
death  was  a  personal  loss  to  him  and  to  the 
College,  said: 


His  Connection  with  Simmons  College    123 

"  The  lady,  whose  memory  these  services 
were  to  commemorate,  was  not  known  per- 
sonally to  a  single  individual  present.  Not 
one  had  ever  seen  her,  or  heard  her  voice. 
And  yet,  she  was  known;  her  name  is  familiar, 
for  linked  with  the  name  of  Dr.  J.  B.  Sim- 
mons is  that  of  Mary  E.  Simmons;  thought 
of  one  is  complemented  by  thought  of  the 
other,  and  sweet  memories  cluster  about  the 
names  of  both. 

"  But  the  beautiful  and  beneficent  union 
of  these  two  in  life  is  now  broken,  and 
the  words  of  the  speakers  on  this  occasion 
stirred  the  hearts  of  those  present  with 
deepest  sympathy  for  Dr.  Simmons  in  this 
loss  of  his  companion  and  sharer  in  life's 
labours. 

"  One  beautiful  feature  of  these  services 
consisted  in  presenting  to  the  minds  of  the 
young  women  present,  the  type  of  noble 
womanhood  which  the  life  of  Mrs.  Sim- 
mons so  exemplified,  and  the  Christian 
graces  which  so  adorned  her  life.  The  good 
of  such  a  life  cannot  be  known,  nor  its 
influence  measured. 

"  In  death  she  is  still  with  us,  and  that  to 
bless. 

*'  The  College,  which  bears  her  family 
name,  is  a  blessing  to  the  world  to-day,  and 
as  its  usefulness  shall  enlarge,  who  can  meas- 


124  ^  Foundation  Buildqr 

ure  the  good  it  may  carry  to  future  genera- 
tions." 

The  friends  of  the  College  placed  in  the 
chapel  a  beautiful  marble  tablet,  suitably 
inscribed  to  her  memory;  and  a  life-size  por- 
trait of  her  husband  hangs  just  above  it. 

She  had  realized  her  own  favourite  poem: 

"  Yes,  heaven  is  nearer  than  Christians 
think, 

When  they  look  with  a  trembling  dread 
To  the  misty  future  that  stretches  out. 

From  the  silent  home  of  the  dead. 

"  The  eye  that  shuts  this  moment  in  death, 
Shall  open  the  next  in  bliss; 

The  welcome  will  sound  in  the  heavenly 
world 
Ere  the  farewells   are  hushed  in   this." 


Her  remains,  which  for  a  time  rested  in 
the  Quaker  Cemetery  of  the  Society  of 
Friends  at  Providence,  R.  I.,  were  removed 
to  a  crypt  in  the  campus  of  Simmons  Col- 
lege, at  Abilene,  Tex.,  where  her  husband 
now  rests  by  her  side  till  the  resurrection 
morn. 


His  Connection  with  Simmons  College   125 

A  Tribute  to  Mary  E.  Simmons,  by 
Rev.  Leander  Hall 

With  deep  interest  I  have  read,  in  the  last 
issue  of  The  Examiner,  the  most  excellent 
and  comprehensive  review  of  the  life  of 
Rev.  J.  B.  Simmons,  D.D.,  who  so  recently 
entered  into  his  rest.  Of  him  it  can  be 
truthfully  said,  "  Blessed  are  the  dead  who 
die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth;  yea,  said 
the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their 
labours;  for  their  works  follow  with  them." 
From  The  Examiner  review  of  the  life  of 
this  godly  man,  I  quote  these  words:  "But 
his  chief  pride  was  Simmons  College,  at 
Abilene,  Tex.,  founded  by  and  named  after 
him.  This  excellent  institution  he  felt 
to  be  his  best  monument,  and,  most  fittingly, 
his  remains  are  to  be  interred  in  its  grounds." 
In  a  personal  letter  to  the  writer  of  this 
article,  dated  July  15,  1902,  Dr.  Simmons 
said:  "And  what  he  says  (J.  B.  Gambrell, 
D.D.,  LL.D.)  of  my  gifted  and  gracious  and 
beloved  wife,  will  lead  you,  I  trust,  to  pray 
earnestly  for  the  school  in  Texas  that  she 
and  I  gave  away  wholly — wholly — to  Jesus 


126  A  Foundation  Builder 

Christ.  Please  read  all  of  Gambrell's  about 
wife."  In  his  letter  Dr.  Simmons  enclosed 
a  copy  of  the  West  Texas  Baptist,  published 
in  the  town  where  the  College  is  located.  It 
was  called  "  Our  Memorial  Edition."  I 
will  quote  a  few  sentences  from  that  paper, 
dated  October  24,  1901,  giving  a  full  ac- 
count of  the  "  Memorial  "  services,  includ- 
ing the  addresses  delivered  on  the  occasion — • 
the  chief  one  by  Dr.  Gambrell.  The  editor 
says:  "We  dedicate  this  issue  of  the  West 
Texas  Baptist  to  the  memory  of  Mrs.  Mary 
E.  Simmons,  wife  of  Rev.  J.  B.  Simmons, 
D.D.,  of  New  York.  Mrs.  Simmons  was 
equal  benefactor  of  Simmons  College  with 
her  honoured  husband,  for  her  beautiful 
hands  wrought  in  part  in  every  task  that 
made  the  money  which  the  family  has  given 
to  the  College,  and  her  mind  approved  it 
all,  and  she  carried  the  welfare  of  the  Col- 
lege in  her  heart  to  the  day  of  her  death." 
..."  In  the  wall  of  the  chapel  of  Simmons 
College  is  a  memorial  tablet  of  marble  on 
which  are  inscribed  these  words:  'Mary  E. 
Simmons,  entered  into  rest  Sept.  24,  1894. 
Jointly  with   her  husband  she  was  founder 


His  Connection  with  Simmons  College    127 

of  this  College/  Dr.  Simmons  has  erected 
on  the  campus  of  the  College  a  beautiful 
and  costly  monument  to  the  memory  of  Mrs. 
Simmons,  and  on  the  24th  of  September 
(1901)  her  remains  were  laid  to  rest  there." 
..."  Of  all  the  gifts  Dr.  Simmons  has 
made  to  our  College — '  The  College  of 
Christ's  Love ' — none  of  them,  nay,  all  of 
them  put  together,  do  not  speak  so  tenderly 
and  strongly  of  his  devotion  as  this  last  one. 
It  is  as  if  he  had  given  the  institution  his 
very  heart,  and  planted  it  in  the  College 
soil,  to  grow  other  hearts  to  love  the  school! 
We  are  glad  to  devote  this  special  issue  of 
the  paper  in  memorializing  such  sublime 
living,  and  loving,  and  giving,  as  the  life 
and  death  and  burial  of  Sister  Mary  E. 
Simmons  exhibit  to  us." 

I  will  give  also  two  or  three  quotations 
from  the  eloquent  address  of  Dr.  Gambrell 
on  this  "memorial"  occasion.  He  said: 
"  He  (Dr.  Simmons)  was  a  student  in 
Brown  University.  In  that  cultured  city 
was  a  teacher,  a  young  Quakeress  of  ex- 
cellent family,  solidly  educated,  full  of  life 
and  purpose;  but  a  stranger  to  grace.     She 


128  A  Foundation  Builder 

was  a  chosen  vessel  for  the  exalted  ministries 
of  her  day  and  generation.  She  was  to  be- 
come the  helpmate  of  the  young  ministerial 
student.  She  was  providentially  fitted  for 
this  service  by  unusual  social  graces,  by  a 
strong  and  resolute  nature,  by  rare  culture; 
but  she  needed  yet  most  of  all  the  endue- 
ment  of  the  Spirit.  God  in  answer  to 
prayer  gave  her  a  heart-breaking  sense  of 
sin,  and  a  heart-mending  sense  of  the  grace 
that  saves  to  the  uttermost.  From  the  depths 
of  despair  she  cried  to  God  and  he  took 
her  feet  from  the  mire  and  placed  t-hem  on 
the  Rock  of  a  complete  salvation.  .  .  .  She 
joined  him  in  his  theological  studies,  taking 
the  entire  course  with  him.  .  .  .  When  Mary 
E.  Simmons  became  the  wife  of  a  preacher, 
destined  to  fill  large  places  of  usefulness,  and 
largely  through  her  unvarying  support  and 
active  help,  she  came  into  a  large  place. 
All  her  strength,  tact,  and  wisdom  had  the 
fairest  opportunity  for  enduring  useful- 
ness; born  to  a  competency,  she  made 
money  a  servant  of  humanity.  Forty-three 
years  she  wrought  in  this  place  for  the 
futherance    of    the    Gospel,    and    the    moral 


His  Connection  with  Simmons  College    129 

and  intellectual  elevation  of  her  race." 
Dr.  Gambrell  closed  his  address  in  these 
words : 

"  There  is  a  fitness  in  bringing  the  mortal 
remains  of  the  founders  of  this  school  to  rest 
on  the  campus.  The  dying  in  distant  lands 
often  long  to  be  buried  at  home.  The 
Christian's  heart  is  in  his  work,  and  the 
home  is  where  the  heart  is.  This  institution 
stands  for  the  abiding  work  of  its  founders. 
Let  them  rest  on  the  campus,  and  may  the 
lessons  of  lives  devoted  to  the  service  of 
God  and  humanity  be  deeply  impressed  on 
the  students  of  this  institution  as  long  as 
time  shall   last." 

I  think  I  but  echo  the  living  sentiment  of 
Dr.  Simmons's  life,  in  coupling  with  The 
Examiner's  beautiful  tribute  to  his  memory 
this  tribute  to  the  memory  of  his  beloved 
wife.  When  two  such  noble  lives  are  linked 
together  in  the  close  relation  of  husband  and 
wife,  they  cannot  do  otherwise  than  build 
enduring  monuments  in  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  Let  tributes  to  their  memory  go 
down  in  history  together.  Together  they 
sowed  and  reaped,  together  they  sleep  on  the 


130  A  Foundation  Builder 

campus     of     the     College     they     mutually 
founded. 


The  good  work  at  Simmons  College  still 
goes  on.  The  president  is  working  to  build 
neat  brick  cottages  for  boys  to  room  in. 
One  built  through  the  generosity  of  A.  F. 
Crowley,  of  Fort  Worth,  bears  on  a  marble 
tablet  the  name  of  his  deceased  son,  Charles 
E.  Crowley. 

Mrs.  Julia  E.  Nye,  the  cousin  of  Dr. 
Simmons,  subscribed  the  money  to  build 
another,  and  Mr.  H.  J.  Weber,  a  warm 
friend  and  admirer  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Sim- 
mons, though  not  a  Baptist,  gave  the  money 
for  another,  and  the  Literary  Class  of  Cal- 
vary Baptist  church.  New  York,  voted  to 
build  another  which  is  to  bear  the  name  of 
their  beloved  teacher,  Dr.  Frank  Rogers 
Morse,  who  was  the  associate  pastor  of  that 
church. 

Three  scholarships  have  also  been  en- 
dowed, and  the  prospects  are  that  during  the 
coming  year  the  facilities  of  the  college  will 
be  greatly  enlarged. 


His  Connection  with  Simmons  College    131 

Dr.  Simmons  has  started  a  fund  for  en- 
dowment, and  others  have  contributed  until 
the  college  now  has  about  $i5,o(X)*  of  in- 
vested funds.  When  this  shall  have  been 
increased  to  $100,000,  the  institution  will  be 
upon  a  firm  basis  of  self-support. 

Every  friend  of  Christian  Education,  es- 
pecially in  Texas,  should  have  a  part  in  the 
work  which  Simmons  College  is  doing,  and 
is  to  do,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  for  the 
cause  of  Christ  and  higher  civilization  west 
of  the  Mississippi   River. 

May  the  foundations  laid  by  Dr.  Simmons 
in  all  his  work  for  God  and  humanity,  be 
wisely  and  prayerfully  built  upon  until  the 
capstone  reaches  the  skies. 

Dr.  Simmons  triumphantly  ended  his 
heroic  life,  December  17,  1905,  at  the  ripe 
age  of  seventy-eight  years.  He  was  hon- 
oured and  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him  in 
the  varied  relations  of  pastor,  secretary,  man, 
and    Christian.      The    funeral    service    was 

*The  matter  on  this  page  was  written  in  the  year  1899, 
during  the  administration  of  Dr.  O.  C.  Pope.  See  final  chap- 
ter, by  Dr.  Oscar  H.  Cooper,  for  the  present  value  of  property, 
amount  of  endowment,  number  of  students,  etc. 


132  A  Foundation  Builder 

conducted  by  the  Rev.  R.  P.  Johnson,  D.D., 
pastor  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Baptist  church, 
of  which  church  Dr.  Simmons  was  long  an 
honoured  member.  The  large  numbers 
present  at  the  funeral  service  testified  to  the 
esteem  in  which  Dr.  Simmons  was  long 
held. 

He  was  a  masterful  man.  He  would  have 
achieved  great  success  in  any  department 
of  business,  had  he  chosen  to  give  himself 
to  commercial  pursuits.  He  might  have 
been  a  great  railway  king;  he  might  have 
been  a  merchant  prince;  he  might  have  been 
a  congressman  or  senator  of  wide  influence 
and  enduring  fame.  But  he  chose  to  be  a 
minister  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  Bap- 
tist denomination.  He  loved  the  kingdom 
of  God  with  a  love  that  was  pure,  strong, 
and  tender.  He  believed  in  the  principles 
of  the  Baptist  denomination  as  the  teaching 
of  God's  holy  Word.  He  loved  and  served 
Jesus  Christ  as  the  King  in  Zion.  He  be- 
lieved in  Christian  education  as  one  of  the 
noblest  pursuits  and  achievements  of  men 
and  women  redeemed  by  the  precious  blood 
of  Jesus  Christ.     He  believed  that  a  great 


His  Connection  with  Simmons  College    133 

institution  of  Christian  learning  is  the  most 
permanent  memorial  possible  on  this  earth. 
He,  therefore,  gave  Simmons  College  his 
money,  his  wisest  thought,  and  his  earnest 
prayer.  As  a  man  eminently  wise  in  the 
divine  sense  of  that  word,  "  He  shall  shine 
as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament";  and  as 
one  who  turned  "  many  to  righteousness,  as 
the  stars  forever  and  ever." 


VIII 

SIMMONS  COLLEGE— THE  CROWN- 
ING ACHIEVEMENT  OF  DR. 
SIMMONS'S  LIFE 

By  Oscar  H.  Cooper 

SIMMONS  COLLEGE  was  the  domi- 
nating interest  of  Dr.  James  B.  Sim- 
mons during  the  last  six  years  of  his 
life.  The  writer  came  to  the  College  in 
1902,  entering  upon  the  work  of  president 
on  June  10  of  that  year.  Four  days  later 
came  a  letter  from  Dr.  Simmons  saying, 
"  Our  trustees  write  me  enthusiastically  of 
their  joy  that  you  are  now  President  of  our 
College  at  Abilene.  And  I  am  up  '  a  great 
while  before  day '  to  join  them  in  welcoming 
you.     God  bless  you  a  hundred-fold!" 

This  letter  was  followed  by  about  two 
hundred  others,  relating  to  the  administra- 
tion, perpetuation,   and   enlargement  of   the 

134 


Simmons  College  135 

College,  covering  all  the  important  events 
in  the  progress  of  the  institution  during 
these  years,  and  outlining  the  policies  which, 
Dr.  Simmons  thought,  should  be  followed 
in  present  and  future  years. 

These  letters  are  of  permanent  value  and 
should  be  edited  and  published.  They  were 
a  source  of  constant  encouragement  and  in- 
spiration during  the  trying  years  when  the 
foundations  were  being  slowly  laid  and  the 
standards  established  which  have  made  Sim- 
mons College  an  enduring  seat  of  learning  of 
high  rank  among  Texan  institutions. 

The  policy  most  persistently  and  strenu- 
ously urged  by  Dr.  Simmons  during  all  the 
latter  years  of  his  life  was  that  of  securing 
adequate  endowment  of  the  College.  In 
more  than  half  of  his  letters  this  policy 
was  discussed  and  emphasized.  Endow- 
ment was  the  chief  feature  of  his  "  Founda- 
tion agreement "  with  the  Trustees  of  the 
College;  nearly  all  of  the  money  given  by 
him  to  the  College  during  his  life  was  given 
for  endowment;  and  his  entire  estate  at  his 
death  was  devoted  to  this  purpose,  subject 
to  a  life  provision  for  his  son,  Dr.  Robert 


136  A  Foundation  Builder 

S.  Simmons.  He  believed  that  a  vigorous, 
persistent,  wisely-planned  campaign  for  en- 
dowment should  be  undertaken  in  Texas  as 
early  as  1902,  and  was  keenly  disappointed 
when  the  Trustees  thought  the  time  inop- 
portune. Yet  he  never  lost  heart  or  became 
critical,  when  his  ideas  were  not  followed — 
he  simply  changed  his  line  of  attack,  keep- 
ing his  main  object  steadily  in  view.  Thus 
it  came  to  pass  that  the  necessity  for  ample 
endowment  was  permanently  fixed  in  the 
ideal  of  Simmons  College  and  a  beginning 
was  made  which  will  grow  with  the  years. 
The  immediate  success  of  the  effort  made 
soon  after  Dr.  Simmons's  death  to  raise 
endowment  for  Biblical  Instruction  demon- 
strated conclusively  that  he  was  right  in 
believing  that  the  time  was  ripe  for  the  en- 
dowment  of   the    College. 

As  the  years  went  on  the  love  of  Dr. 
Simmons  for  the  College  became  a  passion. 
Every  detail  of  its  progress  was  read  with 
avidity  and  evoked  a  letter  to  the  writer  or 
to  Dr.  Hanks,  or  to  Pastor  Scarborough,  or, 
less  often,  to  other  members  of  the  Board 
of   Trustees.     When   the   student   enrolment 


Simmons  College  137 

passed  two  hundred  (in  1903)  he  wrote  a 
jubilant  congratulation;  when  the  plan  for 
building  a  dormitory  for  girls  was  under 
consideration,  he  was  keenly  interested.  At 
his  suggestion,  Dr.  Robert  S.  Simmons,  who 
has  been  the  chief  contributor  to  the  excel- 
lent library  of  the  College,  transferred  his 
contribution  of  $1,100  from  a  proposed 
Library  building  to  this  dormitory,  which 
was  named  the  "  Anna  "  hall  in  honour  of 
the  daughter  of  Dr.  Robert  S.  Simmons.  He 
gave  attention  to  the  details  of  the  curricu- 
lum and  made  many  useful  suggestions, 
usually  closing  with  an  exhortation  not  to 
forget  the  Book  of  Books — the  English  Bible. 
His  satisfaction  and  confidence  grew  as  the 
student  roll  lengthened  from  one  hundred 
to  one  hundred  and  eighty-nine,  in  1902, 
then  to  two  hundred  and  eleven  in  1903, 
then  to  two  hundred  and  twenty-nine  in 
1904.  The  enrolment  has  continued  to 
grow  steadily.  In  1905  the  enrolment  was 
two  hundred  and  forty-nine,  in  1906-07  it 
was  three  hundred  and  twenty-six,  and  in 
1907-08  it  was  three  hundred  and  forty. 
The   enrolment   in    1910  up   to   the   present 


138  A  Foundation  Builder 

date  (March  i)  is  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
eight. 

These  years  were  not  less  noteworthy  in 
the  history  of  the  College  for  advance  in 
numbers  than  for  corresponding  advance  in 
the  standard  of  scholarship.  In  1902  the 
standard  for  graduation  was  little  above  the 
requirements  of  the  best  high  schools;  in 
1908,  a  graduate  of  Simmons  College  was 
admitted,  without  examination,  into  the 
Senior  Class  in  Yale  University  and  grad- 
uated there  in  1909  with  high  standing.  In 
1902-03  the  only  college  class  was  a  class 
of  Freshmen;  in  1910,  twenty-five  per  cent, 
of  the  students  are  of  college  rank,  all  classes 
are  well-filled,  and  ten  Seniors  are  candi- 
dates for  graduation. 

Dr.  Simmons  rarely  suggested  a  candidate 
for  a  position  in  the  faculty  of  the  College; 
yet  he  often  manifested  a  keen  interest  in  the 
members  of  the  faculty.  His  ideal  was  that 
of  the  self-sacrificing  scholar  who  chooses 
service  on  a  small  salary  in  the  College,  be- 
cause he  loves  God  and  feels  that  the  glory  of 
the  Master  is  the  chief  reward  of  his  days  and 
nights  of  strenuous  labour.    His  own  personal 


Simmons  College  139 

needs  were  so  simple  that  he  had  little  sym- 
pathy with  the  teacher  who  taught  only  for 
the  pecuniary  reward.  He  felt  elated  when 
he  found  that  men  had  been  secured  for  the 
College  whose  university  training  was  of  the 
highest  rank,  and  he  often  grew  enthusiastic 
over  the  fact  that  the  students  of  the  College 
were  being  taught  by  graduates  of  Yale, 
Berlin,  the  Sorbonne,  and  other  leading  uni- 
versities of  our  own  and  other  lands. 

The  growth  of  the  College  in  buildings, 
equipment,  and  endowment  in  recent  years 
has  been  noteworthy.  In  1902  the  valuation 
of  the  entire  plant  and  endowment  was 
about  fifty  thousand  dollars;  in  1910,  it  is 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars, divided  about  equally  between  build- 
ings and  grounds  and  endowment.  The  con- 
tributors, large  and  small,  number  many 
hundreds  and  the  list  is  constantly  growing. 
The  total  contributions  made  by  Dr.  Sim- 
mons and  his  devoted  wife  to  Simmons 
College  amounted  to  about  fifty  thousand 
dollars. 

Simmons  College  is  the  most  notable 
achievement  of  the  long  and  useful  life  of 


140  A  Foundation  Builder 

this  devoted  man.  It  has  reached  a  stage  of 
development  in  which  it  is  secure  against 
premature  death  or  decay.  Its  location — just 
above  32°  N.  latitude,  eighteen  hundred 
feet  above  sea-level — is  ideal.  For  several 
years  its  endowment  has  exceeded  that  of 
any  other  denominational  institution  in  the 
state;  nor  can  it  be  doubted  that  its  friends, 
far  and  near,  will  continue  to  add  to  its 
permanent  funds,  for  they  believe  in  this 
mode  of  building — in  a  long  time,  for  all 
time  to  come.  These  friends,  some  old  and 
tried,  some  new  and  enthusiastic,  face  the 
future  with  strong  faith  that,  under  God's 
guiding  hand,  this  "  College  of  Christ's 
Love "  will  ultimately  hold  a  high  place 
among  American  universities  and  encom- 
pass the  globe  with  its  influence. 

The  College  campus  is  hallowed  by  the 
graves  of  Dr.  James  B.  Simmons  and  his 
wife.  For,  after  the  death  of  Dr.  Simmons 
in  New  York  his  remains  were  conveyed  to 
Abilene,  and  funeral  services  held  in  the 
College  Chapel,  where  fitting  eulogies  were 
pronounced  by  Pastor  Scarborough,  Judge 
K.  K.  Leggett,  Dr.  Hanks,  and  the  writer. 


Simmons  College  141 

There,  under  the  cloudless  sky  of  a  Christ- 
mas afternoon,  in  1905,  Dr.  Simmons  was 
laid  to  rest  beside  his  beloved  wife. 

James  B.  Simmons  has  left  an  indelible 
impress  upon  many  thousands  of  people  in 
his  own  generation — chiefly  by  his  great 
work  as  a  founder  and  builder  of  colleges. 
It  is  a  suggestive  thought  that  this  impress 
will  be  wider  and  possibly  deeper  on  the 
next  two  or  three  generations  than  on  his 
own;  for  the  fruits  of  his  far-seeing  planning, 
giving,  and  working  will  hardly  reach  full 
fruition  within  a  shorter  period.  His  mem- 
ory will  be  a  blessing  to  Simmons  College 
forever. 


THE  END 


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